Draconian Beast
by K. Higurashi
Summary: He was bitter, she was a Goddess. She died, and he was cursed. Only the purest woman can break his curse, but can she do it in time? Or will she be pushed away, fearing for her life? VH Based on the beauty and the beast with a twist
1. The Beast

**Disclaimers: I do not own Escaflowne**

**Hmmm… First Esca story, I couldn't help making this. Enjoy!**

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**Draconian Beast**

**Chapter 1. The Beast**

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Once upon a time, lived a kind, Fanelian, royal family that ruled over the country of Fanelia. The King of that country had married a beautiful draconian woman and had two heirs. The first-born was named Folken and the youngest of the family had been named Van. They had all grown into fine people. Folken was to be the next king if ever something were to happen to his father.

One terrible night, Van had been awfully restless. He had decided to go to one of his secret chambers to think by himself. During that time, a hired assassin had managed to outsmart every guard on the castle grounds. He had entered the castle and was determined to kill the king that had fallen in love with the draconian woman, along with the dirty-blooded princes. The assassin had managed to kill off most of the family and even a few of its finest samurai, but had not been able to kill off the youngest of the family.

The prince had gone into a state of depression then had grown furious. The killer had gotten away, and his family was dead. He had then forbidden any stranger from entering Fanelia let alone the castle for anything! Old friends from his childhood had come to visit and stay for the funeral. They had tried their best to comfort the Prince but nothing could help him smile.

One stormy night, a green eyed woman with long blond hair had made her way towards the gates of the castle begging to stay the night. She had reeked with sickness and needed a room to stay the night, but had no money to offer. The guards had brought the woman forward to the prince where she begged for a nights stay. The Prince, still bitter with anger, had refused to let the woman stay and for her to be thrown out of the castle into the storm.

That night, the woman had died. Her body could no longer sustain her, but her spirit lived on. She had newly approached the Prince and had not hesitated to place a curse over his head and the rest whom lived within the castle at that moment.

"As the wing goddess, I place a curse upon thee. By day you will physically be the beast that you have become. By night, you will be nothing but a weak boy." She spoke then pulled out a bright pink pendant that swung side to side. "Your heart will slowly grow darker and darker until it is finally consumed by darkness. Only the purest woman can save you from a lonely death." She said, and with that, her spirit dissipating into the air leaving the pink pendant behind.

He was cursed.

He was a cursed Draconian beast.

.:.:.:.:. Present times .:.:.:.

"This new Fanelia sure is great." A voice spoke.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Another voice agreed.

"Yukari, do you think the stories are true?" The voice asked.

The woman named Yukari shook her head, "Nope. I don't believe in fairy tales Hitomi. There is no one in that castle. It's just a bunch of ruble now anyways."

"Well how would you know? We can't exactly see the castle from here. So many trees have grown in between the castle and half of the old Fanelia. The forest is so thick, you can't see what's on the other side." Hitomi replied.

"I suppose you're right, I guess we'll have to have an adventure someday and discover what's on the other side, ne?" Yukari grinned.

"No way, I'm too spooked to go over there." Hitomi shuddered. "How about we talk about something else?"

"Well, in two days it is your sixteenth birthday." Yukari observed, "Wait, aren't you…?"

"Yeah, I'm supposed to be married to Dilandau the night of my birthday." Hitomi sighed, "I can't believe I have an arranged marriage! I mean, this is supposed to be new Fanelia!"

"Plus, the guy is a creep. He treats you like some toy." Yukari added. "Which, you are not. You are a living, breathing person who just happens to have a certain extra ability."

"I know, but I can't get out of this! My parents insist that we have good connections with the Zaibach country.." Hitomi said. "Sometimes, I wish I weren't even here.. I wish…"

"You wish you were on the Mystic Moon, don't ya? Far away from him, am I right?" Yukari finished.

"Yes, that sounds just about right." Hitomi nodded as she glanced at the setting sun. "C'mon, it's time to head back."

"Aw, but I was just getting comfortable!" Whined her friend.

"C'mon you lazy girl. We were supposed to be back before dark! We're going to be late!" Hitomi scolded her friend.

_Win dain a lotica  
En vai tu ri  
Si lo ta  
_  
Hitomi's head shot up, 'A song—?'

"Hello…? Kanzaki? Are you still in there?" Yukari asked, waving a hand in front of her friend's eyes.

"Huh? Yukari? Didn't you hear it?" Hitomi asked dumbly.

"Hear what?" Yukari asked as she stared at her strangely, "Maybe the stress of marriage has gotten to your head." She glanced over at the horizon where the sun used to hang. "Oh no! Now we really are late! Let's go Hitomi!" Yukari shouted sprinting back down the dirt road, followed by the clumsy blond girl.

.:.:.:. Back home .:.:.:.

"You two are late again!" Yukari's mother scolded the girls as they entered the home.

Yukari rolled her eyes at her mother, "Ya, we kinda figured that out already mom. Don't worry about it; we're too quick for anyone to try anything on us. Right Hitomi?"

Hitomi just stared at her friend having spaced out a bit, "Wha…? Oh right! Yes!"

Yukari's mother just glared at the two, "I don't care if you are quick, or not! Yukari, you have responsibilities! I told you that you would have to take care of Hitomi and not put her into any potential danger while she visits us."

Yukari matched her mother's glares with her own, "Why? Do you think she's another tool too? Do you agree with this whole arranged marriage too mother?"

"Of course! I support it! Her parents made a wise decision. The last thing they need is for their daughter to get hurt while staying with one of her friends for a night! Now, go off to bed!"

"You've got to be kidding me mother, it isn't time for bed—" Yukari began to argue.

"It's ok Yukari, let's go." Hitomi cut in already having begun to walk back towards their rooms.

Yukari just grunted in return and followed her friend to her room. Once they had entered, she slammed the door shut, "Why did you just do that?! My mom has no right to walk over my friends like that! Your parents shouldn't be doing this either—"

"It's ok, I've gotten used to it, remember? I'm ok with being called a simple tool of wa—"

"No!" Yukari shouted, "You keep saying that, but I know deep down, you hate it. You have so much potential! You can be something more than a war tool Hitomi! Quit saying that that's all you are, 'cause you aren't fooling anyone!"

Hitomi sighed, "I…. Time for bed." She said sitting herself down and collapsing onto the bed still wearing her beige-green short dress.

"Oh, Hitomi." Yukari said as she too drifted off to sleep.

.:.:.:. Before sunrise .:.:.:.

_Win dain a lotica  
En vai tu ri  
Si lo ta_

Hitomi's eyes shot open, turning greener by the second, "It's that song again." She whispered lifting herself from her bed.

_Fin dein a loluca  
En dragu a sei lain  
Vi fa-ru les shutai am  
En riga-lint_

She quietly walked out of the room and down the hall following the voice.

_Win chent a lotica  
En vai tu ri  
Si lo ta_

She opened the front door and closed it behind herself as she placed one bared foot onto the dirt road.

_Fin dein a loluca  
Si katigura neuver  
__Floreria for chesti  
Si entina_

She slowly began to walk faster and faster down the street having finally broken into a sprint towards the wooded area of the old Fanelia.

_La la la la la la la la la la la la  
Fontina blu cent  
De cravi esca letisimo_

She ran through the dark forest the voice growing louder and louder by the second. She ignored her surroundings however, and continued to follow the singing. 'Someone… Someone is calling.. I feel it. I'm getting drawn to it..' She thought as the song continued to grown louder within her ears.

_La la la la la la la la la la la la  
De quantian  
La finde reve  
_  
'Here!' She thought as she suddenly came to a clearing. The singing had abruptly stopped, the trance she was in, broken. She glanced around the clearing and gasped. "I…I can't be here… It's just impossible!" She told herself. "It's a dream. Just a dream. Wake up Kanzaki… Wake up…" She told herself as she backed away from the very large stone castle before her.

"Please wake up… Wake up…" She kept repeating. A branch had poked her back causing her to yelp and walk just a bit more into the clearing, away from the trees. 'No! It's not real! Wake up!' She thought as she crouched down into a ball, bringing her hands to her head.

"Wake up.. Wake up… it's all a dream. This isn't real.." She told herself. "I'm back in my room… with Yukari…" She mumbled.

The more she told herself this, the more she began to think it was real. She wasn't at her friend's house anymore. She wasn't under warm blankets sleeping and dreaming of her horrible fiancé. She was here, on the other side of the forbidden forest. She was in the old Fanelia sitting in front of the castle. The castle that was rumored to be filled with monsters.

Hitomi stood up abruptly crushing her hands into tight fists. "Get a grip Hitomi. This place is not filled with monsters. Snap out of it. It's just some stupid rumor." She told herself as she began to approach it. "Nothing bad about an old castle." She mumbled walking towards the grand doors. "Nothing to be afraid about… Just a creepy old castle." She continued to mumble opening the doors.

She walked into the castle slowly, the doors closing behind her. She le tout a squeak at the sound but then calmed herself, 'Just the wind.. must have pulled the doors shut.' She mentally told herself as she continued to walk. "He-Hello?" She squeaked into the darkness. "Anybody there?"

A pair of dark maroon eyes with slight red in them watched the girl move slowly into the castle. He had let out a low growl and said, "What are you doing trespassing into my home! Get out! Leave at once!"

Hitomi jumped, hearing the voice. "U-uh.. i-is someone there?" She asked.

"Leave." The voice kept saying.

"Leave? Why? Where are you?" Hitomi asked the voice.

Bright lights began to shine through the surprisingly clean windows. It was dawn, and the sun had begun to rise.

"Get out!" Roared the voice.

"W-wait! Please tell me who you are?!" Hitomi shouted.

There was no reply.

Black feathers started to circle the girl and fall to the polished floor. She had bent down and gently picked up a few feathers with one of her pale hands, looking them over. "Black feathers?" She whispered in confusion. "Where did these come from?" She questioned aloud.

A chill made its way up and down her spine notifying her of the presence behind her. She could hear deep breathing and low growling noises coming from the presence behind her. Instantly, her body stiffened. She was frozen in place too afraid to turn around to face it. She swallowed the lump in her throat and with a determined face, stood up and swung around to meet eye to eye with…. Blood red eyes.

She gasped letting the black feathers within her grasp drop to the floor. "Wh-who…"

A boy stood before her, his red eyes boring into her own. He stood slightly hunched over baring his long fangs at her. He wore no clothing on his upper body but wore a pelt of fur around his waist with dark long short and dark navy boots. He had clawed hands, silvery white hair that was a bit above his shoulders, pointed ears, strange blue tattoo markings on his arms and to top it all off, he had the most frightening pitch black wings looming around himself. Feathers pooled around the boy as he just merely stood there, growling.

Hitomi had come to a conclusion. It wasn't safe to stay here with this thing around. She had slowly started to back up towards the doors of the castle but the winged boy had by then lunged at her and grabbed her wrist with one of his clawed hands.

"Girl…" He growled, his grip tightening around her wrist. He had focused his eyes on hers carefully and snarled at her. "Green eyes. Green eyes. " He kept repeating. "Wing goddess, burn in hell!!" He howled raising his other hand to slash at her.

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**A/N Hmm Cliffy eh? Chapter updates may or may not depend on how many reviews I get. I have a chapter ready but I'm going to wait and see how many people like this story. I loved the movie and I really wanted to write something to do with the Wing Goddess. -smiles- Hope you guys like it! R&R Please!**


	2. Innocent as a child

**Disclaimers: I do not own Escaflowne**

**Thank you for all your wonderful reviews. I love beauty and the beast... so yeah.**

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**Draconian Beast**

**Chapter 2. Innocent as a child**

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"Van!"

"Lord Van!"

"Stop!"

Hitomi had gasped when she saw mere children jump onto the boy, slowly pulling him away from her. 'They're crazy!' She observed, then blinked down at the child that stood bellow her.

"Please excuse our friend, he does not know what he's doing my lady." Spoke a little boy with long blond hair and sky blue eyes.

"A little help here Allen!!" Shouted one of the little boys keeping the monster held back.

"Come with me!" Urged a tiny pink haired girl with cerulean blue eyes. "Hurry up! I don't know how long they can hold Van-sama back!" She squeaked tugging on Hitomi's hand.

"Uh, o-ok." Hitomi said letting the girl pull her up a flight of stairs towards the next floor. She had stumbled a few times but had managed to catch herself each time. The girl had been pulling her down a long hall and had slammed open one of the doors, which she presumed led to a room. After being tugged in, she had slammed it shut and locked it, letting out a sigh of relief.

"I'm so sorry you had to see him like that. Van-sama isn't really like that, honest. He's just.." The girl shook her head, "What are you doing here anyways girl?! Do you know what you could have done?!" She shouted, her mood suddenly taking a turn for the worst.

She was a cat girl, from what Hitomi could see. She had stripes, fur, cat ears, claws and even a tail that seemed to now flair up with anger. "U-uh, I'm sorry! I didn't know! I was just following someone's voice, and it led me here. I didn't know it could cause so much trouble." Hitomi blurted, waving her hands around in a panic motion. 'I knew it! I should have stayed away. Idiot, idiot, idiot…' She mentally chanted.

"Well, I guess we can't do anything about it now. It's been a long time since an outsider has come here. I'm Merle by the way." The cat girl said staring up at the blond girl innocently. "I know I look really really small right now, but it isn't my fault."

'What happened to her attitude? She went from one extreme to the other in two minutes.' Hitomi smiled weakly, "My name is Hitomi Kanzaki." She answered back. 'This place is already odd, and by the looks of things, I'm not going to be able to leave for a while..'

"Hi, Hitomi." Merle smiled brightly, "Hey, you have green eyes," She observed, "and blond hair!" She exclaimed.

"Yes I do." Hitomi said with slight confusion. "Is that a problem?"

"No!"

One of the knobs to the connecting door rattled and caused the door to swing open. "Merle!" Called many voices in unison.

The cat girl hissed turning her attention to the rest of the gang of friends whom decided to barge in. "What?!" She yelled, baring her fangs and claws in anger once more.

The children had all bursted into the room to see the newcomer that had upset Van. She had recognized the one with long blond hair and blue eyes from before. His name was Allen she believed. The others were a mystery. There was a little girl with light blond hair and blue eyes; she wore a pink fluffy dress and white tiny gloves. There was a boy with short dark hair with a brown shirt and dirty beige pants. Another boy with brown hair, a red bandana on his head and dark eyes wearing a brown shirt with a beige vest and pants and the final boy had brown robes with wavy light brown locks.

"Hitomi, these guys are the ones that helped out from before. They kept Van-sama away from us." Merle piped.

'And then her mood changes again. Is she bi-polar?' Hitomi thought, but still listened intently to her, nodding.

"Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Allen Schezar." The blond boy said, "I am a knight of Caeli and the Captain of the Crusade. These two are part of my crew, Gaddess and Reeden." He introduced two of the little boys.

Hitomi giggled a little at Allen.

"What's so funny?" Asked the blond little girl hotly, placing her hands on her hips, glaring at Hitomi.

Hitomi covered her mouth blushing lightly, "I'm sorry, it's just, I thought at first.. That Allen was a girl when I first met him. His hair is just so long.." She burst into a fit of giggles again, not able to contain herself.

That's when the rest of the children burst out laughing and pointed at Allen muttering little teases. Even the little blond girl was laughing at him, suddenly forgetting the form of insult, while Allen just sunk to the ground sighing and muttering curses under his breath. "I am not a girl!" He shouted.

Hitomi slowly stopped laughing to apologize to the boy. He had thankfully accepted the apology and they had continued with the introductions. She found that the blond girl was called Millerna Aston and that the other boy was called Dryden Fassa. She had then told them a little about herself. That's when Dryden had made the same comment as Merle had earlier done.

"You have green eyes and blond hair." He had said aloud pushing up his tiny set of glasses.

"You know, Merle had just said that before all of you came in." Hitomi replied. She was now sitting on the bed in the room with the rest of the children circling her.

"Did she?" Dryden asked and shook his head. "Well I say we should all retire to bed now. It's late." He said.

"What do you mean, late? It's morning!" Hitomi blurted, confused.

"Oh, well we sleep during the day Hitomi." Millerna informed. "Because of Van's… Errr state. We sleep during the day and stay up at night."

"That's different." Hitomi observed. "But I'm not even tired, I can't sleep now."

"Then I'll stay up with you." Merle piped bouncing up and down on the bed. "We'll stay awake for the whole day then you'll be able to sleep."

"Now that we have that settled, let's hit the sack. I'm exhausted from wrestling with Lord Van," Gaddess yawned stretching.

"Ha! I held him back more than you." Reeden commented.

"You wish Reeden." He replied, deciding to leave for his room.

All the others had also agreed to sleep and left the room through the connecting door to go in their own rooms. Merle had then closed the door and smiled brightly at Hitomi. "I would give you a tour of the Castle but it's the day, and I don't know how long you'll be staying here.. Are you going to try and leave? Or were you going to stay with us?" She asked.

"I'm not really sure, I was just following a singing voice. Though by the looks of things, I think I should stay a bit. I'm actually better off staying here than going back home." Hitomi replied.

"Did you not like your home?" Merle asked curiously.

"No, it was fine.. it's just… I wasn't really accepted for myself there." Hitomi said while fiddling with the hem of her dress. "I'm not exactly the most normal girl."

Merle sighed loudly, "Look around yourself, this isn't exactly a normal castle. I look like some little child and our Van-sama is.. well you know."

Hitomi stared at the cat girl carefully, "Were things always like this?"

"No.. Not always." Merle replied, "I used to be almost as tall as Van-sama. Back then, we were happy. It's because of this stupid curse that we are looking the way we are.  
"See, Van-sama was a kind prince. He had a big brother and really nice parents. They had taken me in after my family was murdered. I was Van-sama's adopted sister! But then, because of his family's heritage, they were killed. Van-sama survived but he had grown to be so bitter and angry!

"…We got cursed by the Wing Goddess. Van-sama had refused to let her stay here one night and she was left outside in a terrible storm. She had died and placed a curse upon this castle. We all got caught into this curse. And now, we're like this. Don't worry, Lord Van changes at night, he's much kinder then." She said.

Hitomi nodded, "So, the Wing Goddess cursed him? He had called me Wing Goddess.. What does that mean?"

Merle nodded, "Well, the Wing Goddess that had cursed him looked a lot like you Hitomi. She had long blond hair and green eyes. Well your hair isn't long, but it is blond and not many people have green eyes."

Hitomi scowled, "So he thought I was her?" She stared down at her now bruising wrist and minor scratches.

Merle gasped, "Hitomi! Did Lord Van hurt you?! Let me see!"

Hitomi yelped when the cat girl had jumped up on the bed to inspect the wound. "There's dry blood and bruises! Hitomi, why didn't you tell me before?" Merle drawled bouncing up and off the bed towards one of the doors of the room. "I'll go get some bandages, ok? I'll be back soon!"

Hitomi barely even got out a goodbye before the cat girl left. It wasn't until later on that she had returned, muttering apologies under her breath for taking so long. She couldn't find any gauze so she had to step out of the safe area's and venture throughout the dangerous castle to find the medical supplies. After the girl was bandaged up, they had ventured out of the chambers to find some decent food to eat for breakfast. Merle had guarded Hitomi the whole time as they walked down the halls. The cat girl had a basic idea of the whereabouts of Van, so she didn't worry much about encountering him.

Once they had reached the kitchens, Merle had pulled out a loaf of bread and some jam for Hitomi. "You can eat this for now. The chefs are asleep right now so they can't make you anything. We'll have to make do with this." The girl said.

Hitomi just shrugged and had her breakfast with the quiet neko. "So.." She had begun, "Will we be safe while walking back towards that room?"

"You mean your room? Yeah, I'm sure we'll be fine. Though we should probably bring some food with us so you can have lunch." Merle replied, tucking some bread into a bag, with a butter knife and jam. "Sorry, you'll have to have a jelly sandwich again."

"It's alright, as long as I have food. Where are the glass cups anyways? I'm a little thirsty.." Hitomi whispered mostly to herself. Unfortunately, the over enthusiastic cat girl had caught wind of her voice. She had leapt up onto the counter behind her to get a glass out of the cupboard when a strange noise had caught their attention.

Hitomi's back went stiff when she heard the steps come closer and closer towards them. 'Please don't be him.' She mentally said.

"Merle?" Yawned a tiny voice, "What on earth are you doing jumping up on my counters!"

Merle hissed, her tail sticking up and flaring out. "Don't scare us like that Mrs. Miyano!"

"Well, you should be asleep Merle, not wandering about the kitchens for warm milk." The chef scolded.

"I wasn't getting warm milk! I was getting Hitomi's breakfast and water." Merle countered motioning a fury hand towards the silent blond girl.

"Oh," Mrs. Miyano said, "I'm sorry dear," The miniature woman apologized, "I didn't see you there, as you can see, I'm not very tall because of the curse… and my eye sight isn't the best without my glasses." Her old child-like voice said.

"It's alright." Hitomi smiled warmly at the woman, "It's not your fault. Anyways, we'll get going out of here as soon as I have a bit of water—"

"Here!" Little Merle smiled holding up a cup of water, "All yours, now lets get back! Grab the bag of food and let's go!" She chirped marching out of the kitchen.

Hitomi blinked at the girl before shrugging her shoulders and following close behind. "This place is way too weird.." She mumbled to herself as they silently walked back towards their rooms.

.:.:.:. Noon .:.:.:.

Hitomi groaned, flopping back on her bed. "I am so bored."

"So am I. I wish we could do something, like play a game." Merle said.

"A game… Hey, is it safe to wander outside you think?"

"Not likely, we would probably get caught by someone. Most likely Van-sama. Though, I do know of a place that Van-sama wouldn't be near!" Merle piped, jumping up and down on the bed, causing it to squeak in protest.

"Is that so? Where might this place be?" Hitomi asked the little pink haired girl.

"The library! It's really big and has really comfit chairs!" Merle exclaimed excitedly, "Do you like to read?"

"Yes, I love to read about fairytales with Princes, and Princesses." Hitomi replied, "Let's go, I'd like to see this place."

"Okay! Let's go!" Merle meowed, bouncing towards the door, "But we have to be very quiet like before. Van-sama has very good hearing!" She cautioned.

Hitomi smiled, nodding. 'I always did like a challenge, besides, I can't see how this cursed prince can do anymore damage to my life.' She thought quietly to herself as she followed the cat girl.

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**A/N Wow, that took longer than I thought to edit. Ha ha, imagine talking to a bunch of short adorable kids that are actually like 18 years old, or even like 40 years old! Crazy! With tiny voices and everything! That would be awesome.. Anywho, R&R and I might update a bit faster..**


	3. The Vision

**Disclaimers: I do not own Escaflowne**

**A/N Thank you all for your wonderful reviews! It makes me happy knowing there are some people reading my story.**

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**Draconian Beast**

**Chapter 3. The Vision**

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That afternoon was the most exciting thing Hitomi had ever experienced. The visit to the grand library was breath taking. The ceiling was so high up and filled with shelves and shelves of books leading up to the very ceiling. There were even beautiful painted figures on the ceiling, making the place seem even more thrilling. Merle had opened all the curtains to help her see even more clearly. The windows were very tall; Hitomi had wondered how much material it took to cover such large windows.

Once she had started to read, Merle had made herself comfortable in a chair and started to doze off. Her last comment was to not leave the room or go anywhere near the West wing of the castle unless she was given permission. Hitomi had shrugged off the comment and kept her nose stuck in her book.

A few hours had past; she had skimmed a few books to learn a little more about the castles past, but could find no such information. With a sigh of defeat, she placed another book on a shelf. There were so many in this room, it would take months to go through all of them. 'Maybe I should see if I can find a book on the Wing Goddess.' She hummed lightly, and browsed the shelves. The books seemed to be in alphabetical order, which made her search much simpler. She came across many books that she thought might have been useful, but turned out they weren't. With a huff, she wondered if perhaps there were some documents that were hidden perhaps?

"_Don't go anywhere near the West wing of the castle unless you're given permission…" _

'Why can't I go there anyways? I know that this 'Van-sama' must be dangerous, but I don't seem to get that dangerous feeling from him.' Hitomi snatched one of the books off a shelf and examined it. 'The legend of the God of the Sky, Escaflowne.' She mentally read.

After reading through various parts of the book, she had been ready to turn to the next page but her hand froze. Her eyes widened at the sensation.

It was happening again.

The feeling.

The same feeling from before.

Her entire body freezing.

Her eyes becoming the windows of her next vision.

.:.:. Flash .:.:.

_She wasn't in the library anymore but down some kind of hall. She had somehow stopped at a door and opened it to see that the room was dark, only a pale pink glowing light was emitted from the room, and then her vision had gone from that room to another chamber. Some sort of shrine. There was something very large kneeling at the back of the room. As she drew closer, she noticed that it was very white and that.. it looked much like a guymelef. "Is that.. Escaflowne?" She questioned aloud. Just then, the head of the armor had turned towards her._

"_Mistress…" _

.:.:. Flash .:.:.

Hitomi gasped, closing the book loudly and shoving it back on the shelf. She breathed heavily and slid down slowly until she met the floor. 'Get a grip Hitomi!' She mentally scolded. "But that.. what was that light? And the armor.. M-mistress?"

"I think.. I know where it is.." She mumbled lifting herself up from the floor. She dusted herself off before walking back towards her original spot at a table. She spotted the still sleeping Merle and wondered if she should try to slip out of the library or not. The thought of that angry monster came to mind, and caused her to inwardly shudder. 'But, as much as I love to read, I just want to get out of here. I want to explore, can't I do that? Possibly without getting caught?' She grinned, "Now there's a challenge." She whispered, determined.

So, she had decided. Tiptoeing out of the library, she had closed the door quietly behind herself and began to walk as quietly as possible, down the hall. There were occasionally creeks in the floor that caused her to jump and sounds of the wind striking against the windows, making her yelp. In the end, she had successfully calmed down, enough to just catch a brief noise behind her. By this time, she was totally lost in the castle. She had no idea where she was, for she was only following her own feet. 'It's too late to turn back… I wish I never left.' She thought and swallowed hard.

She heard another noise behind herself, and being the coward that she was, she ran. Hitomi didn't even know that she ran straight to the front of the castle, until she noticed the large double doors. 'A way out!' She mentally shouted. Just when she thought she was home free, a hand had gripped her already soar wrist and tossed her around, her back colliding with the wooden doors, and a warm body pressed up against hers. She could feel his breath against her neck, her eyes that were tightly closed, had opened up to stare at the bloody red ones. "U-uhh."

"Wing Goddess, you bitch. Why have you returned? To see me? To see how much you've been making me suffer under your goddamn curse?" He snarled, tightening his grip on her aching wrist.

Hitomi's eyes seemed to glow a bit with anger. "I don't know why you love to call me that, but I am no Goddess! My name is Hitomi and I am most certainly not a bitch!" She shot back. "So let go of my wrist right now!"

"Bitch, don't try to lie to me!" He barked, "I'll kill you.. green eyed wench.."

"That's enough Van!" She used her free hand to easily slap him across the face, leaving a bright red hand print in its wake. "If that's even your name, I want you to let go of me, right now."

After recovering from that surprise slap attack, he had replied, "Don't tell me what to do." He snapped using his claws to newly pierce the skin of her wrist and dragging his claws half way up her arm, grinning wildly. He had snatched her free hand with his own before it could reach his abused cheek once more. "Ha, let's not try that again."

Hitomi winced at the feeling of her own blood dripping down her arm and onto the floor. 'Damn it.' She mentally swore, biting her lip in frustration. "L-let go of me!" 'Did that sound as pathetic to him then it did to me?'

"I'm going to make you suffer—" His eyes had suddenly widened, his pupils dilating. He let go of the girl and clutched his head tightly, growling. His hair was morphing, slowly from the tips up into a dark raven colour. His ears were rounding off, his skin darkening into a dark tan. The long black wings that served as a cloak were dispersing into a mess of black feathers on the floor. His growls were dying down as his claws shortened.

She could hear him panting heavily by the end of this strange transformation of his. He had raised his head slowly, greeting her with his dark eyes. He seemed to be mildly shocked to see her and bleeding no less! 'Damn,' "I told you to leave. Why didn't you leave!"

Hitomi was taken aback by his temper. 'What is wrong with him?' She growled inhumanly and thrust a finger at him, "I was trying to do that but someone stopped me! Both times! You jerk!"

"You shouldn't be here to begin with! Get out of here now girl, you don't belong in my castle. I'm having enough troubles as it is!"

Hitomi was fuming, 'Why that little—'

"Hitomi!! Why did you leave like that! You could have gotten hurt!" A tiny voice squeaked from afar.

Hitomi could make out the tiny cat girl's form in the shadows. Wait, the shadows? The sun had set! That's why he's like this! It's night time now. "Merle?"

"Hitomi!" Merle leapt onto the girl, crushing her into a hug, "Why did you leave? Hey! You're hurt! I told you not to leave the library!"

"I know, but I couldn't help it. Not after, well, anyways. I was just leaving anyways." Hitomi replied.

Merle shook her head in disbelief. "No! You can't! Please don't. You're hurt. You should wait until you're healed up before leaving. You can't pass through that forest with the smell of blood on you or you'll attract dragons."

"Dr-dragons?"

"Uh huh, aren't I right Van-sama?" Merle asked politely

Van had by then walked away. Out of sight. Gone.

"I guess.. he's hungry?" Merle said.

Hitomi huffed, "Come on, I have to get cleaned up, right?"

"Yup! Then we'll see about dinner!" Merle chirped.

Once Hitomi was well bandaged up and ready, dinner was served. Merle had kindly led her to the dinning room, telling her to sit at the opposite end of 'Van-sama' while she sat beside him. The other 'children' had come in and taken their seats as well. It was very strange sitting at a table filled with little bodies and only Van and herself looking like grown ups. Almost like some scary family. The little cooks had come in with platters of food, pilling them up on the table nicely. Once Van had begun to eat, everyone else had started. Hitomi had shyly begun to eat the delicious food, savoring the taste.

'This is good, I wonder what it is? I've never had anything like this before.' She thought as she ate. Her eyes were focused on her plate, until she felt a cold chill shiver up and down her spine.

Someone was looking at her.

She had lifted her eyes, and they crossed with angry red-brown orbs from the opposite end of the table. 'What's his problem?' She thought.

Van had continued to glare at her, angry that she thought she could just stay here.

Angry that she wouldn't leave.

Angry that she looked like the Wing Goddess from so long ago.

And especially angry that she was eating in his castle dinning room.

She had no right.

Did she honestly think she could help, or something? Van had growled, muttering something then excusing himself from the table before finishing. He was gone before anyone could even protest.

Hitomi inwardly sighed, it was going to be a long night.

.:.:.:. After dinner .:.:.:.

She had finished dinner quickly after Van had left. She was curious of his whereabouts, but decided to leave him alone. Right now, she wanted to concentrate on the image she had seen before. The God of the Sky. She remembered now, it had called to her. It was strange really, how could a suit of gigantic armor call to her anyways? She groaned, "Well, I have nothing better to do. I want to see if I can find it." She spoke softly, continuing her way down the unfamiliar hall.

"Wait a minute. Do I know this place?" She wondered aloud. "I'm almost positive I've been here before."

_Hitomi vision had suddenly changed. She wasn't in the library anymore but down some kind of hall. _

It was happening again, those flashing pictures, visions.

_She had somehow stopped at a door and opened it to see that the room was dark, only a light pink glowing light was emitted from the room, and then her vision had gone from that room to another chamber_

"Th-the light, it's somewhere along here."

"_Don't go anywhere near the West wing of the castle unless you're given permission…"_

'The West wing? Wait, is this the West wing?' She mentally asked herself. "This can't just be a coincidence. I was… I was called here. Someone called and I came. Now it's telling me, to go towards that light, right?" She asked aloud. She huffed, blowing the annoying piece of hair out of her face, "Ok Kanzaki, you're loosing it." She placed her hands on her hips, "Why on earth would anyone want to call for me?" She mumbled, continuing her walk. It was when her feet subconsciously stopped her in front of a door that she began to feel nervous.

"This, no it can't be. It's not!" She told herself, nervously chewing on her nail. She pulled her hand away from her mouth and directed it to the door knob. "Just a little peek couldn't hurt. I mean, I had walked up those long stairs and…" Her voice faded as she twisted the door knob and pushed the wooden door open. What she saw made her eyes widen.

The room was a disaster. Paintings were slashed, the bed spread also ripped the pieces, fabric sprawled everywhere, chairs broken, the tables broken. Only two things were in tacked, the tall windows and balcony, and the little round table near that window with some kind of pendant on it. "This isn't right." She told herself in awe as she walked into the room, uninvited. She had observed the mess and the paintings until she had walked to the table. "This pendant." She breathed.

_She had somehow stopped at a door and opened it to see that the room was dark, only a pale pink glowing light was emitted from the room, and then her vision had gone from that room to another chamber_

"But why is it.." The pendant wasn't a bright pink like it was in her vision. It was dark, black even, and only a tiny pink spot was left. She placed a finger on the pendant in question, "This isn't supposed to be like this, isn't it supposed to be pink?"

"_Mistress…"_

Hitomi's head shot up as she heard the voice in her head and another noise coming from outside. She had gasped at the dark figure coming out of the shadows of the night, returning from the outdoors. It was none other than Van, looking much more frightening right now than he did during the day, if that were at all possible.

"What are you doing here?! NO! Don't even answer that! You aren't supposed to be here. Get out!" He yelled menacingly at her, grabbing her already injured wrist to pull her away from the pendant. "GET OUT!" He barked again, shoving her towards the door, "JUST GET OUT! LEAVE!" He snarled viciously, his dark figure covering the pendant from her view.

Hitomi just stood at the door much paler then before. She was frightened out of her wits and her wrist was throbbing in pain. "I—I didn't—"

"GET OUT! NOW! Or so God help me, I will tear you to pieces!" He threatened, cracking his knuckles, his eyes burning with anger and hate.

Without another thought, she had fled. She had run until her legs burned and gone numb from the pain. There was no voice guiding her, no singing, only images of the evil lord's eyes burning into her own. She had found her way to the doors leading outside once more. With a final tug, she was out and running down the steps that lead her up to the grand doors to begin with. Now, she had no idea where she was going. She could hear that one word repeating itself urgently in her head, calling her back, but she wouldn't listen.

_"Mistress…" _

"Mistress…"

"Mistress…"

'Go away! Just go away!' She mentally yelled, cursing the fact that her tears were running down her cheeks. She didn't mean to upset him that much. She just wanted to know what her vision was telling her. Now she was in the forest.

The forest that had dragons and creatures that were beyond dangerous.

And of course, she had a bleeding arm.

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**A/N I hope that was good enough for you all. Please tell me what you think! R&R!**


	4. The dragons

**Disclaimers: I do not own Escaflowne**

**THANK YOU FOR YOUR REVIEWS!!**

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**Draconian Beast**

**Chapter 4. The dragons**

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.:.:.:. With Van .:.:.:.

He was breathing harshly, trying to regain his breath from yelling at the poor girl. 'She had no right to be in here.' He told himself as he turned around to inspect his precious pendant. What he saw had made his breath hitch. The pendant was nearly half pink once again. 'What happened?'

"VAN-SAMA!"

"VAN!"

"VAN!!"

He could hear them coming now, his loyal companions. Merle had bounced in, her eyes watering, "Van-sama! We heard yelling! Please Van-sama! She left! You have to get her back!"

"Van!" It was Allen who was speaking now, "What happened here?"

"Yeah Lord Van, what happened to the little missy?" Reeden asked.

"Be quiet, all of you. She had no right to be in here. She touched the pendant and I had caught her." He told them, still angry at the girl.

"That's strange." Dryden had said aloud, "If I'm not mistaken, I'd say that the pendant is much brighter than it was just a few days ago." He observed, approaching the jewel. "It looks like the Wing Goddess has prolonged our lives."

"Quiet!" Van snapped.

Merle was crying now, Millerna was next to her, holding her hand and spoke, "Van, please you have to go get her back. What if she can break this curse? You just sent her away! Into a forest of dragons with the scent of blood covering herself. We can't just leave her out there—"

"I know that!" He snarled, "Get out of here all of you!"

They had obliged to his command, and left him alone in his quarters. Only Allen was left, "Dragons are bound to catch her scent soon, I wouldn't give her more than one hour before she gets eaten alive." He said coldly, before exiting with the rest.

Van groaned, running his hands through his dark locks. "Fanel, you've done it again."

.:.:.:. With Hitomi .:.:.:.

Hitomi swallowed the lump in her throat, looking around herself. Trees, trees and even more trees. She had no idea where she was, she was outside in a forest, barefoot, with an aching wrist that was bleeding through the bandages and was lost.

"What way do I go? Where is my home? Why can't I find my way back like I always do?" She sniffled, more tears flowing down her cheeks, "Why did this have to happen to me? Why am I the one who has to deal with these visions? And marriage, and monsters! I am no Goddess. I just want to be normal. I WANT TO BE NORMAL!" She cried, crouching down into the dirt.

"Where am I.. Please, someone tell me which way to go." Hitomi said, "Speak to me, please whoever you are, just anyone.. Help me.." She cried softly.

There was a noise of snapping twigs, branches and the crunching of leaves. All those noises had come from her right side and she had turned her face to meet with the glowing yellow eyes of another creature. She gasped standing to her feet quickly. It was a large, green scaly creature with yellow eyes and fangs the size of her head. These creatures were known as dragons.

She shook with fright, 'H-Help.' She mentally called as she backed up slowly from the monster.

'Oh god, please someone help.' She thought urgently again with another step backwards.

The dragon mimicked her, and took steps forward for each one she took back.

'HELP!' She mentally yelled as she turned swiftly around and broke into a run. She ran as fast as she could, for her life depended on this. She had gone through thorn bushes, tripped a few times but regained herself no sooner, but it was still not enough. The dragon was right behind her, jumping from one spot to another, hobbling after her.

Karma finally had its way with her, and she had tripped over a tree root, sliding across some dirt and rolling around until her body had stopped with her lying on her stomach. She was bruised, cut, and bleeding. 'Someone help me.'

_The sky was orange and red, a shadowed figure in the distance was fighting with a sword. Then her vision had shifted to the kneeling guymelef from before. _

"Mistress…We will protect you."

Then a blinding white flash of light.

_Pure white feathers. _

Hitomi's eyes focused back onto her situation. The dragon had its tail above its head, readied and shot towards her, the pointed thing aimed for her back.

'Escaflowne.. Whoever you are.. Please help!' She mentally cried, squeezing her eyes shut. Oddly enough, the pain had never come. She had heard a strange battle cry though. When she had opened her eyes, what she saw had amazed her.

Van was standing protectively in front of her, a sword held in his hand and the tip of the dragons tail cut off and abandoned. She had weakly called out to him, as if unsure if it was really _him_ there.

He had ignored her call and attack the dragon once more. He had directed its attention away from Hitomi and moved it around to fight with him and only him. Well, it was true, dragons did breathe fire, and because of this, Van was nearly fried. If it were not for the protective armor he had on his left arm, he probably would have been killed.

He moved swiftly and was able to leap away from it with style. He had at one point, taken out one of the dragon's eyes with a swipe of his sword, causing it to shriek loudly like it had done before hand. Green blood now oozed out of its tail and the hole in its eye.

"Do you want me to take out your other eye too, dragon? Or will you leave now?" He snarled.

The dragon had let out another painfully loud shriek before using one of its clawed paws to slash at the prince, effectively causing four long gashes of blood to appear on his chest. He had yelled in pain, but brushed it off, standing weakly to his feet. "Damn you, you stupid monster." He growled, charging at it. He had leapt around it towards its back, his sword poised at his side; he had used it to slice from the tip of its tail down towards its belly.

The most sensitive part of the creature.

He grunted, sheathing his sword once the dragon had ceased to move. It was dead now and he had walked around it to find Hitomi. She was still laying the spot where he had found her. She looked very pale and was shaking like a leaf. He had dropped to his knees to inspect her. She had rolled over and sat up, her eyes and body still visibly frightened.  
"You don't have to worry." Van spoke unusually gently, "The dragon's dead. You're safe.."

Flashes of the dragon and his yelling had mixed in her head, she didn't know what she was saying until afterwards when she had repeated the words in her head, "It-it's not the dragon I'm worried about."

Those words had hurt him more then he had expected. She was afraid of him? 'That's right, she's afraid of me.. I'm the real monster..' He thought bitterly before he closed his eyes and passed out. His body had landed against her own, making her freeze up. Then she had relaxed, holding him to her.

"V-Van? Are you ok Van? Van?" She started to tear up again, "You're bleeding so much, please don't die." She said, "We need to get back to the castle. We need to get back. Please, someone! Help! Help Van! Please, bring us back!" She closed her eyes tightly, "Back to the castle."

She sniffled loudly, "Please.. Don't let him die. I didn't mean it.. What I said… Please wake up, please.. Tell me what to do! Where to go! Please, someone, bring us back.. I'll go back. To the castle."

Without her knowledge, a pair of transparent wings had spread widely from her back, and then they were engulfed in a pillar of light. Next thing she knew, they were in her room. Hitomi still held the boy in her arms, her transparent wings surrounding them. "Van?" She asked softly. Then the door to her quarters had burst open. Her eyes that had glowed much brighter than usual had turned back to their normal state and the transparent wings were gone.

Millerna, Allen and Merle had come into the room all asking many questions about the injuries and how they got into the room but she brushed it off. "Never mind that, go get some water and bandages! Now! We have to help Van!"

"But you are nearly equally as hurt as him." Allen countered, "You need medical attention too."

"Never mind me. I'm not that important." Hitomi shot back.

Merle and Millerna had returned with the needed medical supplies and Hitomi had placed Van down gently. She had everything placed on the night table and the others were ushered out by Merle so they could have some 'alone' time. As soon as she placed the wet cloth on his first gash he had sprung awake, yelping in pain.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

"I'm helping you! Now be quiet a-and let me finish this! Then I'll leave you be." Hitomi shouted back, continuing her work. She got occasional yelps and grunts of pain from him, but otherwise he kept quiet. When she had finished, she had placed the cloth back into the bowl and was sliding off of the bed.

"Where are you going?" He had asked her, almost urgently.

"Leaving, I doubt you want my company, your highness." She seethed. Sure, she was scared of him, petrified even but she was angry too. She didn't want to be left in a room alone with him. Not in a long shot. She was still shaking a bit from the attack and the way he had destructively ripped the dragon apart. It sent chills down her back.

'Sh-she doesn't trust me.' His eyes were down cast almost ashamedly, 'I had yelled at her, threatened her and then left her to be eaten by dragons. I'd hate me too.' He cursed, it wasn't supposed to be this way. But it was being played out that way, because she was heading for the door and ready to leave. "Please don't go Hitomi." He said, before he registered exactly what had come out of his mouth, he had blushed.

Hitomi hadn't moved, her body was trembling, then he could see her hand slacken from the doorknob, she was wobbling, her whole body, back and forth. Then he noticed her eyes drooping and really how flushed she looked. Then she passed out, falling onto the stone floor.

"Hitomi!" He exclaimed, ignoring his own pain in his chest, eager to get to her side. He had crawled off the bed and walked towards Hitomi's limp body, crouching next to it. It was the first time he had ever noticed her own injuries, her body reeked with sickness. She had a fever, a very high one at that. Then he noticed something else, a type of thorn that was stuck into a piece of her clothing. 'This is a poisonous plant. She must have run through a lot of it to be this sick.' He thought grimly.

He had moved her to her bed and ordered Millerna to get him the herb leaf to counter the poison. He had cleaned all the dirt off of her face and when the medicine had arrived, placed some onto all her open injuries.

.:.:.:. Hitomi's dream .:.:.:.

_"Where am I? Why is it so dark?" She asked herself, twisting around into a circle once more, but was continuously surrounded by darkness. She kept turning around in circles, until she saw the familiar Guymelef again. "Escaflowne?" She questioned aloud. _

"Mistress…" Its head had turned towards her, "We will protect you."

"Protect me? Who? You and who? Why protect me? Why are you calling me mistress?" She kept asking it. The ground she was standing on began to shake furiously and she risked a glance towards the white melef. It had disappeared, just like the ground below her.

_She was screaming now as she was falling into a pit of darkness. "HELP!" She screamed, stretching her hand out towards the sky, trying to grasp something to stop her falling figure. _

A miracle had happened, that same flash of light before and then, pure white feathers. There was a dark figure coming towards her, with long white wings sprouting from the person's back. His hand had gripped her own, and he grinned widely at her.

"Who are you?"

.:.:.:. Out of dream sequence.:.:.:.

She had awoken with a start, Merle was curled next to her, no one else in the room. "What happened.." She mumbled, it was day, the curtains were pulled so the light wouldn't come in. Glancing around the room, she found that she had no choice but to continue sleeping. She was exhausted and beginning to get used to this routine. Besides, Van wasn't there, so she couldn't question him now. Not until sundown anyways.

'I'll just sleep. Maybe I'll dream of that handsome boy with the white wings again.' She smiled wearily before drifting off once more.

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**A/N it's short, but depending how many reviews I get, I might actually post up the next chapter sometime this week. (-coughIalreadyhaveitdonecough-) R&R! Tell me what ya think!**


	5. Dilandau

**Disclaimers: I do not own Escaflowne**

**THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR REVIEWING!**

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**Draconian Beast**

**Chapter 5. Dilandau**

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.:.:.:.:. Past sundown.:.:.:.

"Mmmmmphhfink.." Hitomi mumbled in her sleep, turning over in her bed to cuddle into her pillow. She inwardly winced at the stinging pain in her wrist and throughout her body. She couldn't help but breathed an "Ouch".

Cracking open her eyes, she blinked a few times to clear her hazy eyes. Once her eyes were in focus, she found that someone was staring at her. "Mmmmm, Allen?" She mumbled.

"Good morning, lovely lady. Everyone else has gone to eat breakfast, would you like to join us?" He asked politely.

Hitomi giggled at Allen, nodding her head. "Y-yes, I would like to join you, but my body is in a little bit of pain. Maybe I'll come down later, alright?"

"Would you like for us to send a maid to fetch your breakfast?" He asked.

"Uh, no it's alright, really. I can come down later." She replied.

Allen had nodded, but before leaving her had taken off one of his white gloves and pressed his hand against her forehead. "Hmmm, seems like your fever is gone, that's good. The medicine must have worked."

"Fever? Medicine? What exactly happened?" Hitomi asked curiously.

"Last night, you had collapsed. Lord Van had taken care of you as long as he could, then he left the rest up to us." He smiled warmly, "I'm glad to see you're alright."

"Thanks Allen," She said, "Now you should go and have breakfast, I'll come down later."

"Alright." He replied, placing his hand back into his glove before leaving.

'So I had a fever? I wonder how that happened?' She thought, turning over onto her back to stare up at the ceiling. "Hmmmm.."

_Win dain a lotica  
En vai tu ri  
Si lo ta_

She blinked once, then twice, now staring at her door. And image of Escaflowne had flashed through her head as the song continued.

_Fin dein a loluca  
En dragu a sei lain  
Vi fa-ru les shutai am  
En riga-lint_

.:.:.:. With Van .:.:.:.

"_What_ do you mean she _isn't_ eating with us?" Van nearly shouted, trying his best to hold down his temper.

"It's like I said it Lord Van. She isn't feeling well. She said that she was in pain and that she would eat later." Allen explained once more.

"She wouldn't be hurt if she _hadn't_ gone in the forest in the first place!" He boomed.

"Well she wouldn't have gone into the forest if _someone_ hadn't yelled at her." Allen countered.

Van grunted, "Yes well.. I wouldn't have yelled at her if she would have stayed away from my chambers!"

Allen rolled his eyes and walked away from his majesty, towards the dinning room where everyone else awaited them.

Van snorted and trudged away, deciding that he didn't need any breakfast. His wounds had healed very quickly; in fact they were already gone. They had healed during the day when he was in his beastly form. He had decided that he would visit Hitomi and give her a piece of his mind for not showing up to breakfast. Her fever was gone and her body should be all right by now! She was obviously lying to the knight of Caeli.

While grumbling under his breath, he had reached the girls room. Opening the doors, he had noticed one very important thing. She wasn't there.

"Stupid girl, she had better not gone back to my chambers!" He hissed, dashing out of her room in search of the strange girl. He hadn't even made it to his room yet, but had found her. She was standing on a balcony overlooking the lush green forest and parts of the hidden city behind the forest.

"He's going to be angry." He heard her whisper with fright.

He couldn't help but walk up next to her and ask, "Who will be angry?"

She had turned sharply towards him, wincing and grabbing her side. Her green eyes were distant, but focused back towards reality, "U-uh, don't worry about it. I'm sorry, I should be heading back in."

"No, wait." Van had already made a grab for her bad wrist, twisting her back around to face him. He could see that her face had twisted into a hurtful look. He had let go of her abused wrist apologizing quickly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It's alright." She replied, holding her damaged wrist close to herself.

"Could you please tell me who you said would be angry?" He asked once more.

"It's really none of your concern Lord Van. I—" Hitomi's eyes went wide as she stared back towards the Fanelian grounds. There were flames surrounding them, large metal monsters were coming through the forests burning everything in theirs paths. "No." She cried lifting her hands to her head. She could see a _red monster_, inside of it she could hear a loud shrieking laughter of a man.

"Make it stop…" She cried. "I don't want this.. Make it stop.."

Van stared at her strangely and looked back out towards his land. What was she talking about? Then he could see her starting to cry and wanting it to stop. "Hitomi?" He grabbed her shoulders and shook her. Her eyes were clouded over, and she was breathing deeply.

"Stop it… Stop _him_.. He's going to—"

"Snap out of it!" He shook her roughly once more before she came dropping back to reality.

"Van!" She gasped, snapping her eyes to him. "We have to do something! Please!"

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

"He's coming, Dilandau! He's going to look for me tomorrow and he's not going to find me." She explained.

"Who is Dilandau?"

"Please, don't make me go to _him_. Please, we have to stop him!"

"I can't stop him if I don't know who _he_ is!"

"H-he's on his way to new Fanelia. He'll be there tomorrow—he'll be angry!"

Van huffed, she was too out of it right now to answer any of his questions with a straight answer. He didn't even know if she was sane or not, anymore. "Let's go get something to eat. If something bad does happen, I'll be ready for it."

"B-but—"

"Let's go Hitomi."

.:.:.:. Later on that night .:.:.:.

"I don't get it. I just don't get it. Her song led me to that balcony, and then I had that vision. Why would she want me to see something as horrible as that?" Hitomi blew the stray hair out of her eyes.

"_Win dain a lotica  
En vai tu ri  
Si lo ta" _

She sang softly.

"Hitomi? What are you doing?"

Hitomi switched her gaze towards Merle. They were now both sitting in her room in front of a fire, cuddled into a warm blanket. "Just singing a song I've been hearing a lot."

"Oh, well Van-sama knows that song. You should ask him what it means. He knows a lot of things."

"I see."

"Hey, what wrong?"

Hitomi smiled weakly, "Tomorrow is supposed to be my sixteenth birthday, and I'm supposed to be married."

"What? But you're too young to get married!"

"It's the year that I'm able to marry, but truth be told, my fiancé is probably going to be one of my greatest enemies."

"Why do you say that? Don't you love him?"

"No, my father promised me to him. He is a soldier of Zaibach and plans on using me as a tool, an advantage in war."

"War? Tell me, are the worlds out there in the midst of a war?"

"No, not yet. But they will be."

"How do you know?"

"Remember? I told you I wasn't a normal girl."

"Well define 'not normal'." Merle replied.

"I…I don't know…"

"Hitomi! Please? It's not like things here are normal either you know."

"I know, the truth is.. I'm afraid… I hate telling people my secret. It's what got me into this stupid marriage in the first place."

Merle's ears perked, "Really?"

"Yes, see I'm not like your average girl. I'm actually a….. Seer.."

"Really! Truly? Does that mean you can tell me my fortune?!" Merle asked excited.

"Yes, I could. But I need Tarot cards to do that. I left them behind at my house before I came here." Hitomi explained.

"Oh well. Maybe another time. So, this gift got you into a marriage?"

Hitomi nodded, continuing her story. "See, once word got out of my ability, my father took advantage of it and pretty much sold me off to the Zaibach soldier, Dilandau, though he called it a 'promise'. He said I would leave to marry him once I was of age and I would never come back. Zaibach wants to use my powers and me as an advantage in war. Like I said, it's because of this stupid 'gift' I'm in this mess. I think that it's what led me to this place. That and the song"

"The song? Which song?"

"You know, you ask a lot of questions Merle. Are you a spy sent by Van to know what's wrong with me?"

Merle blushed, "U-uh.. Well…um…Van-sama…um…. You really are a seer!"

Hitomi giggled, "If Van wants to talk to me, he can come in if he wants."

"He's afraid.." Merle murmured.

Hitomi blinked, "Afraid?"

"Yeah, that you'll want to get away from him. Van-sama is very caring and very sensitive. He feels awfully bad for yelling at you, and he doesn't want to come near you because he's afraid of you turning away from him." Merle said.

"Well, I'm not upset anymore. You can tell him that next time you see him or something." Hitomi replied.

"I wanna go get him now! He still has a few hours before the sun comes up!" Merle untangled herself from the warmth of the blanket and got to her feet.

"Wait Merle, maybe we shouldn't bother him…"

"Oh come on Hitomi! Are you shy?" Merle grinned mischievously.

"N-no! That's not it!" She blurted, blushing madly.

"Uh huh, sure." Merle continued to purr. "Bye bye Hitomi!" She winked, before dashing off on all fours out the door.

"Merle!" Hitomi shouted, but to no avail. She was gone, and here she sat in front of a warm fire cuddled in a nice blanket. 'Great, you just had to open your mouth Kanzaki.' She mentally sighed, 'Well, maybe he won't come. Maybe I'll be here alone for the rest of the night. Then again, spending the rest of the night with Van doesn't seem so bad after all..' She groaned, 'Great, now I'm thinking about spending time with him..'

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**A/N See…? Wasn't that a fast update? Thanks to you guys and your awesome reviews! YAY! –claps- R&R!**


	6. Kindness

**Disclaimers: I do not own Escaflowne. (I wish I owned Van… -sighs-)**

**THANK YOU FOR YOUR REVIEWS! I updated as you can see… Kind of short (I'll make the next one much longer) but I have more in store for you guys depending how much time I have and if you guys are nice enough to review.. (I'm lazy too when it comes to reviewing but I am changing my ways!!) lol.**

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**Draconian Beast**

**Chapter 6. Kindness**

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There was a knock at her already opened door, and she had twisted awkwardly to peer at it. Van was standing there looking very flustered and ready to take off at any moment. He had forced a smile and asked, "M-may I come in?" 'Stay calm.. Don't get angry at her..'

"U-uh, sure. This is your castle you know." Hitomi replied, turning back towards the burning fire.

"Yes, it is. But I gave this room to you. Therefore you have control over it." Van replied, entering the room and sitting cozily next to her.

No one spoke for a while until Hitomi remarked, "You've been a lot nicer to me lately. Are you planning anything?" She asked suspiciously.

Van snorted, "Hardly, I'm just waiting for your injuries to heal before sending you back home."

Hitomi growled, "Jerk, what if I don't want to go home?"

"Why wouldn't you want to go home?"

"Don't act as if you don't know. I know Merle already told you the short version of my story." Hitomi said bitterly as she cuddled deeper within her blanket.

He winced, "Actually, she only told me one thing, that tomorrow was your birthday.. Then she told me to come here and you'd tell me the rest, if you were willing."

Hitomi blushed in embarrassment, "O-oh, did she?" She swallowed the lump in her throat, groaning lightly, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been rude."

"It's alright, I deserved it." He spoke roughly, "I've been treating you far worse. I apologize… for earlier… I didn't mean to yell."

"It's okay, I understand. It was a place I was warned about. I shouldn't have gone to it, but I couldn't help but follow my vision." She blurted, before covering her mouth with the blanket.

"Your vision?" He frowned, "Tell me, what exactly do you mean?"

"I-I d-don't know if I should tell you—" She silenced herself and shook her head, "No, it may be best if I'm honest."

"Honest?"

She nodded, "I'm a... a seer and I've never been treated very well by anyone except my best friend Yukari." She explained. She had gone down into great depths with her story, telling him about her unfortunate arranged marriage to Dilandau, and his killing tendencies. She had also mentioned the song she had been hearing a lot lately.

"What? You're telling me that the song led you here, and afterwards, to my chambers?" He asked in disbelief, his brows raised. In Hitomi's opinion, he looked very childish that way.

"I've also been having those visions. Bright lights, which I believe is from that strange pendant, and a white Guymelef calling me 'mistress'." She shuddered, "Then darkness.. a lot of darkness, swallowing me." She trembled.

He frowned, "Does that mean, something bad is going to happen?"

"I'm not sure, but I do remember, that each time I fall, there is another bright light," She hesitated, "And feathers. That's all." 'Best not tell him _everything._'

"I see." He faced away from her, the burning flames reflecting within his eyes dark brown eyes.

"That's it. That's all I know right now. I have a really bad feeling though, that something horrible is going to happen. I don't want it to happen but," She hesitated again. "I think Dilandau may come after me."

"You do not have to worry about Dilandau." He stated, "No one has ever been able to come out of those woods alive except for you. I doubt he will be able to come here." He explained.

'_Mistress.'_

_Escaflowne's head turned towards her. 'Mistress…' _

'We'll protect you.'

'_The dragon..' _

'The Dragon will protect you.'

'Wing Goddess.'

Her eyes glazed over lightly, but she shook her head, 'Wh-what?' She glanced at Van shyly asking, "H-hey, do you want to share my blanket with me?" She opened up the end and scooted closer to him and placed the blanket over his shoulders.

Van muttered his thanks and leaned into her.

"What does the song mean, do you know?" She asked him in wonder.

"It was a song that my mother used to sing to me.

_In the darkness, the dragon wakes  
To a cold heart the dragon takes  
With you at my side, the dragon sleeps  
On dragon wings our wishes leap"_

"The dragon. Escaflowne is a dragon, isn't it?" Hitomi asked.

"Yes, is that the white Guymelef you've been seeing?"

"Definitely, it has to be it. It called for me, it and the woman's song." She thought for a moment.

'_The Dragon will protect you.' _

'Wing Goddess.'

"But the dragon can't just mean Escaflowne.." She muttered.

Van glanced at her, "You're right."

Her head shot up, and she looked at him sheepishly, "What was that? Was I thinking out loud again?" She blinked.

He smiled briefly, "Yes, I suppose you were." His eyes, she noticed, held many more emotions than she had expected, "You were right about what you said. 'The Dragon' doesn't have to necessarily mean Escaflowne. In fact, my family, the Fanels, are know as the family of dragons. I am the last remaining dragon."

'_The Dragon will protect you.' _

'Wing Goddess.'

'Van? Does that mean Van will protect me?' She thought, 'This is just getting confusing.' "Is Escaflowne here, Van?"

He thought for a moment, "Yes, but he is locked away. He is only to be awakened in case of a war. Well, that's how it was before this damned curse.." He growled, glaring at the fire pit, the flames dying down slowly. "I can't reach Escaflowne now unless the Wing Goddess permits me."

"I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked.." She squeaked, feeling him slowly relax. "Um.. Also.. I was wondering.. Well, this isn't the best time to ask b-but, do you think.." She bit her lip nervously, "Do you think I could see that pendant?"

"It is not—Never mind. I should return to my duties. Goodnight Lady Hitomi." He said courteously, dropping the blanket away from his shoulders and standing to his feet.

Hitomi yelped, "I-I didn't mean to upset you! V-Van?"

He nodded to her than continued his way to the doors. He could hear whispering and sighs from the connecting door to Hitomi's room, but ignored it. As usual, his 'friends' were spying on him. He growled as best as he could and left the room.

Allen leapt out of the room next door to Hitomi's and followed Lord Van closely. "Van, why did you do that? You know if we have any chance to break this curse, it lies within her hands. What if the pendant is the key? We could get Escaflowne back!"

"Quiet Allen, the pendant is what holds our lives if it is even cracked, we could die." Van replied, "It isn't a toy. As for Escaflowne, I need the Wing Goddess to permit me to use it. As you can see, she isn't even _alive_. "

"I know but—"

"No buts. I have things to do, goodnight Sir Allen."

"Goodnight Lord Van." Allen replied coolly, bowing then retreating to his own room.

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**A/N Van needs to loosen up, ne? Now then.. I must find a way to incorporate Celena… Maybe I'll have her pop in and be under the curse too… Hmmm.. Yes, she must come in, eh? Lol, R&R!**


	7. Slaughter

**Disclaimers: I do not own Escaflowne**

**A/N Wow… I haven't update in like FOREVER! So sorrrrrry. Enjoy this chapter though!**

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**Draconian Beast**

**Chapter 7. Slaughter**

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.:.:.:. The next night .:.:.:.

Hitomi moaned, stretching in her bed. 'Mmmm, well, happy birthday Hitomi. Today you are supposed to marry Dilandau. I guess that isn't happening.' She sat up in her bed, yawning. "Merle?" She called. The cat girl wasn't in her room like she usually was. In fact, Hitomi couldn't hear anything. 'Is it still day?' She glanced at her window and saw that it was indeed nighttime. She huffed lifting herself out of bed and wandering towards the door.

Hitomi opened the door and popped her head out into the hall to look around. "Nobody is here." She huffed again, slipping back into her room. "Well, I better decided what I'm going to wear—"

"Hitomi!" Merle giggled, bursting through the door way and clinging to the girl's neck, "Happy birthday!"

Hitomi yelped, "Ack! Merle!" She gasped, the cat girl was licking her cheek while singing 'happy birthday' to her. "Th-thank you."

She giggled, dropping herself onto the floor, "No problem! But now you have to look pretty for your birthday ball!"

"My what?"

"Look in the closet!"

'Birthday ball? What is she talking about?' Hitomi wondered, opening the closet door. There was a red gown hanging on the inside of the door, just crying to be worn by her. "Is-is this for me?"

"Yup! Isn't it pretty? Wear it!" Merle chirped.

Hitomi blushed, "Okay.. Want to help me put it on?"

Merle had told her that she would, but only after the woman would have a bath. So she got herself cleaned up and aided to put the gown on. She was then led downstairs one hour and a half later by the cat girl and Allen. They had first led her to a very large room that had sparkling clean floors and a band at the very end. Allen had bowed politely and wished her to have a happy evening, while another set of doors opened. She held her breath and blushed in embarrassment and fiddled with her dress shyly.

Lord Van had stepped through the doors, dressed in the traditional Fanelian gowns. He had turned his gaze towards her, smiling warmly. 'She looks amazing.' He thought as he approached the shy girl. He bowed politely, taking her hand in his and kissing it, "Would you be so kind as to accompany me with this first dance?" He asked.

'H-he's so nice, and looks so handsome.. is this real?' She wondered, nodding her head numbly. To say he had swept her off her feet would be an understatement for he had done much more then that. It felt like she was floating on a cloud, being held close to the King and dancing smoothly. She would have never thought that this rude lord would know how to dance.

"I-I'm sorry for leaving you so rudely yesterday. Please forgive me." Van spoke as they danced. His eyes, she could see, held a lot of guilt and sadness.

"It's okay, I shouldn't have brought up a touchy subject such as that." Hitomi replied, her cheeks still very flushed with embarrassment.

Van smiled, "You are too wonderful Hitomi."

Hitomi snorted, "Hardly, I'm nothing more then a pest."

"I don't think so." Van replied, twirling her. "Are you hungry?"

"A little." Hitomi admitted.

He brought her into his chest, her back flush against him. He lowered his head and rested his chin on her right shoulder, "How about we go fetch something then? I heard that there was some sort of celebration going on today in the dinning hall."

"Is that so?"

"Oh yes." He said as a matter of fact, "Come on, I'll show you." He untangled himself from her and kept her hand linked with his, leading her away from the room, towards the dinning hall. It was dark in the room, and she could hardly see a thing, until someone had lit all the lights. Then a very big 'happy birthday' was shouted by all the staff and her friends who stood in the room clapping (of course they were all children that were clapping).

Hitomi laughed, "A birthday party? I-I've never had one like this before!" She sighed happily, "Thank you everyone!"

Hitomi, Van and all their friends found a seat at the table and ate their dinner while chatting amiably to each other. Once the meal was finished, a very large vanilla cake was brought in by the chefs with little candles on it. All her friend ushered her to make a wish, make a wish, make a wonderful wish. Hitomi giggled, closing her eyes and wishing, 'I wish that..' Once she finished, she opened her eyes and blew all the candles out. All people were served a piece of cake and gifts were given. She was surprisingly given a set of tarot cards by Dryden and Millerna. They said that they found them somewhere in the castle.

'Well, they do seem a little old and worn out.' She thought, as she continued to open her gifts. Merle had given her shiny bracelet, Allen and his crew gave her a journal with a lock and key, and the list continued. Afterwards, Van had led her away to go outside in the gardens. He had told her about his mother, and how she loved to work in the gardens and sit in them. There was a rose bush that he had pointed out to and told her that it was his mother's favorite flower. He had picked one and was handing it to Hitomi. "Happy birthday Hitomi."

"Thank you Van, you know, no one has ever given me a rose before." Hitomi whispered, reaching her hand towards the rose. She had only touched the petals, but was still engulfed by darkness.

_"This is what we'll do. Dragon Slayers, you will all aid in the search for Hitomi Kanzaki. We will search every home in new Fanelia and even go into the old Fanelia."_

_"But Lord Dilandau, there are dragons in those forests." Miguel replied._

_"Are you volunteering? You can go search the forest and if you make it to the other side, you can search there too, then report back to me." Dilandau replied. "Well, what are you all waiting for? Go!"_

_Dilandau chuckled at the fleeing boys, "I'll get you Hitomi." He promised, sniffing the red rose that he held in his hand, "Just you wait, I'm coming for you."_

_Hitomi sniffled, falling to her knees, "No! I don't want to go! Make it stop! Stop him from coming!" _

"Hitomi!" Van's face had come into her vision and brought her back to the real world. She was on her knees in the gardens, with Van holding her shoulders. "Are you alright? What happened?"

Hitomi blinked hazily, shaking with fear, "Van, he's coming!" She gasped, "Please, you have to stop him."

"Stop who?"

"D-Dilandau! H-he sent one of his men to come search for me beyond the forest. He's going to be here! He's going to find me!" Hitomi sniffled.

"I doubt it. Dragons will catch his scent before he gets to the other side. You'll be safe in the castle, and if he does somehow manage to cross over, I'm sure it will be day break, and I'll take care of it."

She shuddered and shivered at the thought of Van turning into such a violent creature. "C-can we go inside?" She asked timidly.

"Yes, I'll bring you to your room." Van replied.

"Thank you."

After escorting her to the proper room, Hitomi had kindly invited him to come in with her. She had noticed the hesitation to follow, but he had shrugged it off and entered. He had changed over the course of days, treating her kindly now instead of yelling at her to leave. 'Maybe he's just acting nice to me for my birthday. That's probably it right there.'

"The sun is going to come up in a few hours. I'll keep watch and have guards posted outside your door until daybreak." Van told her, after she had tucked herself under the thick covers. "Is that alright?"

"Yes, that's fine, it'll make me feel better and all but, if anything were to happen, how would little children dressed in armor be able to help me?" Hitomi asked curiously.

Van grinned, "Well, first off you will forget about the curse and imagine that those guards are men, not boys. Second, I would never let anything dangerous roam these halls, except for myself. Thirdly, I highly doubt the poor soldier boy will make it to this side, it is practically impenetrable to search in the woods without being eaten."

"But I—"

"Simply put, you cheated. A voice guided you here, the boy will probably freeze and shake to death before arriving here. Now get some rest, I'll see you tomorrow." Van said.

She sighed, smiling weakly at him, "Goodnight Van."

.:.:.:. Within the Forest .:.:.:.

Miguel shivered, "Why did I have to open my big m-mouth anyways? Lord Dilandau can be so unfair at times… I wish he could just forget about this girl and find a new one.." He yelp, hearing a roaring noise. 'W-was th-that a dragon?' He mentally squeaked before breaking into a run. He could hear large foot steps behind himself, following his every move and ran faster. 'Lord Dilandau--!' He mentally cried, 'I need help!' "Gah!" He tripped and crawled back to his feet.

"This isn't fair! This isn't fair!" He cried running for his life. He was mentally jumping with joy when he could see light at the end of the forest. "A way out!" He bolted, running as fast as he could and jumped out of the forest, falling on his side and rolling in the dirt. The sun had come up by then, and he thanked the gods, because it was the light of the sun that had guided him out. 'Thank you..' He breathed heavily, knowing full and well that no dragons were following him any longer.

He had slowly stood up to his feet and hobbled around, until his gaze was finally set on a castle. He beamed with pride, "Lord Dilandau will be so happy with me for getting this far." He trudged up the stairs leading towards a large set of doors.

.:.:.:. With Hitomi .:.:.:.

She growled, tossing and turning, 'I can't sleep! Why can't I sleep?' She huffed, tossing her bed sheets aside. Her eyes had fallen on the old deck of tarot cards on her night table. She had taken the deck and shuffled the cards, before lifting up the first one.

Her eyes widened considerably.

La Morte…

Death…

Slowly, she didn't know if she was still dreaming or not, but the image on the card had peeled away and started to surround her and pull her into an unwelcoming vision.

_"N-no, pl-please spare me! I w-won't ever re-return!"_

He kept walking towards the frightened boy, his blood eyes never leaving the boy's frightening gaze. "No one will ever take her away."

"Pl-please I won't—"

"A secret is always better kept with the dead." With that he gripped the boy's throat once more then slashed at him with his claws.

She screamed, pulling away from the vision. During that time, her cards had fallen from her grasp pooling around her. She was shivering with fright and had done the thing she had least expected to do. She had stood up and ran out of the room to change fate. 'No matter how evil a person might be, no one deserves such a brutal death.' Running down the halls she had found the front doors at the bottom of the stair case. She smiled to herself and ran down them.

Upon reaching the bottom, she was taken by the waist and turned around roughly, "Wench, what do you think you're _doing_?" He said between ferocious growls, his blood eyes glaring her down.

"Van! Calm down, please.. Listen to me!" Hitomi begged.

There was a knock on the door, the sound rang through the foyer. Then, a timid voice asked, "I-is there anyone h-here?"

Van glanced over at the doors, grinning madly.

"No Van!" Hitomi took his face in her hands and made him look at her. His eyes were wide, as she touched him. "Don't do it."

"Why aren't you afraid of me.. Wing Goddess?" He narrowed his eyes.

Hitomi swallowed the lump in her throat, "I'm no Goddess, haven't I already told you that? I know you Van, please don't open that door." There was another knock, "Please just ignore it."

"I-is there anyone th-there? M-miss Hitomi Kanzaki? Are you there?" Asked the timid voice from the door.

"Hitomi.." Van repeated, staring at the girl. "Wing Goddess.. You will not leave this castle, _no one_ will take you from here!" He howled, forcing her away from him and bounding to the door.

"No Van!" Hitomi cried, "Don't hurt him!"

He ripped open the door in time for the man to ask again if Hitomi was there, and was grasped around the throat. Miguel yelped, "H-help." His eyes landed on Hitomi's and his eyes went wide, "Hito—" He was thrown into the foyer by a very angry Van.

Miguel coughed and backed up against a wall, fear written all over his face, "N-no, pl-please spare me! I w-won't ever re-return!"

He kept walking towards the frightened boy, his blood eyes never leaving the boy's frightening gaze. "No one will ever take her away."

"Pl-please I won't—"

"A secret is always better kept with the dead." With that he gripped the boy's throat once more then slashed at him with his claws

Hitomi gasped at the blood splattered across the wall. She shielded her eyes from the slaughtered figure and cried silently, 'I couldn't.. Why couldn't I stop him?' She thought helplessly.

Van grinned at the dead boy and walked back to the frightened girl, "You won't leave Wing Goddess. Not alive.." He chuckled darkly.

Hitomi gasped, his black wings had pooled around him, providing a cloak as he approached her. It was then that she had turned on her heals and run for her life. She could hear him flap his wings, then soon follow her in flight.

.:.:.:. New Fanelia .:.:.:.

The Zaibach men were currently staying in an inn. Dilandau had his own room whereas the other dragon slayers were all in one other room.

"Any news on the whereabouts of Miguel?" Dilandau asked.

"No sir." Chesta replied.

"Fine, we will wait one more day." Dilandau spoke.

"Is it possible, sir, that Miguel was simply eaten by a dragon like you had suggested?" Chesta asked. By then, Dilandau had gripped him by his uniform.

"Do you honestly think that a dragon slayer would be defeated by a dragon? You idiot! I trained you better than this!" He yelled, slapping the boy across the face before letting him go.

"My apologies milord.." Chesta bowed.

"Feh, get out of my sight." Dilandau ushered him away.

"More wine Lord Dilandau?" Asked a young woman.

"Yes, pour me another glass, Celena." Dilandau replied.

The young maiden smiled and giggled, before pouring him another glass of red wine. "Will that be all milord?"

Dilandau glanced at her momentarily, nodding a bit. "Y-yes, that's all. You may leave."

"Yes Lord Dilandau." She bowed and left.

He kept staring at his door before taking a sip of his drink, "Soon.. I will have what I want."

"Soon.."

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**A/N Ha! My first little scene with Celena! Tada! Lol, R&R!**


	8. The black dragon heart

**Disclaimers: I do not own Escaflowne**

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**Draconian Beast**

**Chapter 8. The black dragon heart**

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Her heart was in heart throat in fear. She had slammed the doors shut behind her, trying her best to hold them shut as Van clawed at them on the other side. She found herself in the dinning room, with only one way out of it, which she was currently blocking. 'What do I do now? How will I get myself out of this one..?' Her eyes scanned the room for anything that would give her time to hide.

"The chairs!" She exclaimed dashing for the table and ripping a chair away from it before placing it under the doorknobs of the entrance. She breathed a sigh, wiping away the sweat from her forehead tiredly. She had nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard him bang at the door now with massive force.

'Ack! I need to hide.. Hide..' She kept mentally repeating, scanning the room for any possible exits. 'Kitchen doors are locked and the windows don't open since they're practically rusted shut.'

_Win dain a lotica  
En vai tu ri  
Si lo ta_

Her eyes dilated for a moment landing on the floor under the table. Everything was silent, as if someone had pressed the mute button on the world. She couldn't hear the door being torn on the outside, nor could she hear her heart beat pounding in her ears. Only the singing voice of a woman leading her to the table was heard, until she was crawling underneath it. She shook her head; her eyes returning to normal and she found herself tugging at a hidden latch.

'What is this?' She thought, but decided not to dwell on it any longer for the door would burst any moment now, 'This is better than being torn to shreds.' She tugged open the door, crawling within the hidden compartment and closed the lip tightly just as Van burst into the room.

"Wing Goddess!" She heard him snarl, "Bitch, where did you go?!"

She winced and began to crawl down the small tunnel, away from the cursed lord. She could hardly hear him anymore, but come to think of it, she couldn't hear anything. It was so quiet in the tunnels, it was practically frightening her. She was in such as daze, that she had not realized that the tunnel had come to a stop, and there were stone ladder steps leading down somewhere.

She had placed her right hand on the supposed spot where the tunnel was to continue, but felt nothing but air and had nearly tumbled down the hole if she had not caught herself. "Wh-what the heck!" She breathed, placing a hand on her heart before starting to descend the stone ladder. "Who puts a ladder in the middle of nowhere?" She grumbled hotly to herself as she continued down. "Honestly, what is there to put down here anyways?" She scowled, 'Does this thing ever end?' She thought. Her feet had touched the bottom, 'Speak of the devil.' She glanced around, "It's so dark, I can't see a _thing_!"

_Fin dein a loluca_

A torch lit on fire  
_  
En dragu a sei lain_

Another torch lit itself  
_  
Vi fa-ru les shutai am_

All of the torches were lighting themselves up, one after the other, circling the room and illuminating it. Hitomi could feel herself turning around in a circle until all the torches were lit up, and a large figure was revealed.__

En riga-lint

She gaped, it was _Escaflowne._

'Escaflowne? What are you doing in here.. You're the armor and—You're black?' She glanced at its heart, where the drag energist was kept, 'It's dark just like the armor, but still has the same amount of brightness as the pendant when I last saw it.' She approached the guymelef, which was kneeling before her. "Isn't the God of the Sky supposed to be a white dragon? What's wrong with this armor? Maybe it has to do with the curse.."

She huffed and began to climb as best as she could, up the Guymelef's body, slipping a few times and catching herself just as fast. Hitomi grunted, 'How do boy's do this anyways?' She shimmied her way to the 'melefs side until she got to her destination. She was now standing on Escaflowne's arm, staring at her reflection inside the dark jewel.

"Escaflowne, I wonder if your heart is Van's heart? Do you feel each other's pain? Is that why the pendant and you heart resemble so much?" She asked. "I read that in order to be able to control you, the Fanelian Prince must slay a dragon to be King and add his blood to the drag energist to be one with the melef." She kept speaking. She had lifted one hand and brought it to the dark jewel, but was shocked by it instead of being welcomed by its power.

"Ow!" She hissed, holding her abused hand. "Why did you.." The metallic head had turned towards her, "U-uh.." 'What's going on? Is this a dream?' She mentally asked, 'Or is it a vision?' She swallowed hard, 'What's going on…?'

_"Mistress.."_

Hitomi backed up, "Y-you can't be a-alive!"

_"Mistress…"_

She took another step back and felt nothing support her as she fell to the ground being engulfed by a vision at the same time.

_She was falling down in the darkness just like before, groping at the air to find some sort of support and desperately crying for help until her white winged angel flew down towards her, gripping her hand and grinning._

"Wh-who are you?"

Everything when black as she hit the solid cold floor.

.:.:.:. Night .:.:.:.

"Hitomi!" Merle called, "Hitomi! Come out come out where ever you are!" She shouted and hissed in anger, her tail poofing up in the process, "Where is she?!"

Allen came running down the hall, stopping in front of the pink haired girl, "Any sign of her?"

Merle's tail deflated and she sighed shaking her head, "No."

"Curses.." Allen scowled breaking into another run to continue the search.

"Hitomi!" Millerna called, "Please come out!"

"Wing Goddess! Oh where did you go?" Dryden asked to no one in particular. He could see Millerna begin to cry and patted her back, "Now now Milly, we'll find her."

"But what if Lord Van is right? What if he did slay her?"

"There was no blood besides that of the Zaibach warrior and no other body found. I doubt he touched her." Dryden explained.

"Still, I'm worried."

"So am I."

Van sulked in his room, glaring at the pendant angrily. "This is your fault. If I wasn't under this stupid curse then maybe.. Maybe things would be different!"

Gaddess burst into Van's room with Reeden at his side, "Lord Van! We've searched the entire castle, and we can't find her." He breathed heavily having run all the way there from the other side of the castle.

Van continued to stare gloomily at the pendant, feeling it pulse lightly, then he heard the shriek of a dragon. He had stood up so quickly that his chair had flown back. "Did you hear that?"

Reeden blinked, "Uh, hear what Lord Van?"

The dragons shrieked once more and Van ran to his window to look outside. Nope, no dragon's out there. "A dragon's shriek, can't you hear it?" He asked as he stuck his head outside, feeling the night wind play with his dark locks.

Gaddess placed a finger on his chin, "Hey, maybe it's Escaflowne." He joked.

Van's eyes widened, "That's it!" He turned away from the window and dashed past the two confused boys.

"Uh, what's it?" Reeden asked Gaddess who just shrugged.

Van had run down the halls until he found the main stairs and had sprinted down them. Once he reached the floor, he had gone up to a wall in the foyer. All the blood was cleaned up and Miguel's body was gone. He frowned, trying to find a specific spot on the wall. He ran his fingers over the finely painted walls until they had come into contact with a cement rose, 'Now I remember..' He put his hand on the rose and turned it.

A door to his left had opened up, revealing a stone staircase and a torch had automatically lit up. "I haven't used this passageway in a long time." With that said, he had started his descent.

.:.:.:. With Hitomi .:.:.:.

"Wake up, c'mon and open your eyes.."

'Who's there..?' She mentally replied, trying to blink open her eyes, her vision was completely blurry. She squinted and found that Van's face was looking down at her in worry. "V-Van?"

"Hi-Hitomi! Are you alright? Can you tell me what happened?" Van asked anxiously, holding her bridal style in his arms as he stood.

"I.. I'm okay. Bumped my head." She smiled sheepishly, "But I'm fine."

"What happened this morning? Why are you down here?" Van asked seriously.

"You killed a Zaibach dragon slayer." She replied, "And that's all" She lied.

Van frowned, "Why aren't you telling me the truth?"

"I am telling the truth!" She retorted.

"Lies, tell me why you are here." Van asked once more, "And don't try and lie to me."

Hitomi growled, looking away, "You tried to kill me and I found my way here, happy?"

'Thank you, Escaflowne.' "Very." He said, staring up at his Guymelef before turning around, with her still in his arms, and walked down the cave where he had come from. "You're going to rest in your room until I say otherwise." He started his way up the stairs.

Hitomi rolled her eyes, "And since when do I ever listen to you?"

He thought for a moment, "True as that may be, I will be making sure that you will be staying in your room."

"But th-that's ridiculous! It's unfair!" Hitomi argued hotly.

"This is my castle, my rules. You neglected my rules several times and have always gotten into some sort of trouble. Like this one for instance." That shut her up, "So, I will be making sure you stay in your room and I will have Allen and Merle in there as well during the day to make sure everything goes smoothly."

She grumbled, crossing her arms across her chest as he got to the last step that brought them back within the castle.

"Hitomi!!" Merle shouted with joy, running on all fours towards her and jumping on her while she was still being held by Van. "Van-sama found you! He found you!" She mewed, licking Hitomi's cheek.

"U-um, hi Merle." Hitomi giggled.

Van sighed and began walking towards the next stairs case, but was bombarded by others who had also cried happily, seeing that Hitomi was safe.

"We saw the broken doors and suspected the worse had happened." Dryden began. "But, we're glad to see you're alright, Miss Hitomi."

"Quit sucking up, Dryden." Millerna scolded.

"What, I was being polite!" Dryden chuckled nervously.

Allen cleared his throat, "Would you like me to take Hitomi to her room, Van?"

Van raised a brow but was cut off by Reeden, "Jeez commander, hitting on an older girl? Hate to break it to ya, but I don't think she's into nine year olds." He broke into a fit of laughs and Gaddess had also chuckled.

Allen growled trying to hide his blush, "I am not trying to hit on her!"

Van shook his head and left everyone arguing to go up the stairs and towards Hitomi's room. "Jeez," Merle began, highly annoyed, "Can't those guys go one night without starting a war?"

At the mention of that world, Hitomi's face darkened. 'War..' Van had noticed her change in mood and had asked her what the matter was but she just brushed it off, insisting that is was nothing.

"Here we are. Merle, why don't you go to the kitchen and ask the cooks to finally prepare a meal for everyone?" Van asked, after opening the door very carefully to the girl's room.

Merle hissed, "Why do I gotta do it?!" Her eyes narrowed at him, but he wouldn't back down, and in the end, she had leapt off of Hitomi and run out to go inform the chefs.

Hitomi was placed gently on her bed and Van had lain down comfortably next to her, earning a growl from the girl. "Why are you on my bed?" She scowled.

He snorted, "My castle, my rules, don't you remember?" His eyes danced with amusement as her face turned red in anger.

"You are a jerk."

"I know." He gladly admitted, "But onto more urgent matters.. Why didn't you stay in your room like I had asked last night?"

Hitomi looked to her side on the floor, the tarot cards still lying in a mess. "I had another vision." She spoke sullenly, "And I tried to stop it." She turned to him again, "I tried to stop death and will it to go away, but it didn't work. Someone still died, and I couldn't stop it."

Van nodded, "I see." He stared up at her ceiling, "I'm sorry for attacking you in my beastly form, but I couldn't help myself, you look just like the other Wing Goddess.. I can't control my form."

"Even when you look like that, you still aren't a beast to me. Van, you are still as much as a king now as you were before. I trust you so much, and if I had to choose, I would choose you in your day form over Dilandau any day."

"You mean you would choose death?"

"No, I would choose to stay with you and run around the castle hiding, or attempt to tame you, either way, there's something for me to do." She joked.

"You are too cruel." He chuckled.

"Yes I know.." She blinked and sat up slightly, leaning on her elbow to look at him, "Say, did you ever notice that your hair is longer than mine?" She grinned evilly, "Can I do something?"

Van blinked his dark brown eyes at her innocently before narrowing them, "Don't you even—Ack!" He gasped, she had tackled him, pinning him down and straddling his hip. "Hitomi!" He blushed.

"Well, if you won't _let_ me braid your hair, then I have to force you." She smirked.

"Fine, just get off of me."

Moments later, Van was sitting cross-legged on the bed while she sat behind him braiding his hair. "You know," She finally said, "Your hair doesn't look good in little braids. It should be longer, then I could put it in one big braid, and then you'd look very handsome." She noted out loud while taking out the braid and combing his hair using her fingers.

He blushed, "I-I prefer it this length." He closed his eyes and leaned in to her as she combed his hair with her fingers. 'This feels nice..' He was loosing his inner battle to resist against her and had completely leaned onto her, his face turning to be in the crook of her neck and his eyes closing.

Hitomi had blushed a bit before wrapping her arms around his chest and resting her head on his drowsily. 'When did I get so tired?' She thought, "Mmm, Van?" She murmured quietly.

"Hnn?"

"I'm falling…. asleep.."

She could hear him lightly snoring and smiled, 'Well, so much for eating..'

.:.:.:. New Fanelia .:.:.:.

"Chesta!" Dilandau called.

"Yes milord." He stepped up and kneeled.

"Prepare the dragon slayers, we are moving out tomorrow night."

"Yes milord."

"And make sure my Guymelef is fully functional, I don't want anyone to be able to spot it while it has its cloak on."

"Yes milord."

"Now leave."

The blond nodded standing and bowing before stepping out.

"Fetch me something to eat, Celena." Dilandau commanded from the woman next to him, who had gladly bowed before retreating to the kitchens. "Tomorrow night," He chuckled maniacally, "I can't wait!"

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**A/N Oh my, I hope this is good, eh :) R&R!**


	9. Protect her

Disclaimers: I do not own Escaflowne

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**Draconian Beast**

**Chapter 9. Protect her**

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Everything had gone by smoothly for once within the castle during the day. No one had disturbed Van-sama and Hitomi was in her room locked tight with Allen and Merle taking shifts to guard her. Once day had turned into night, the whole castle was up and doing their own jobs, safe for Hitomi. She had stayed in her room and stared at her tarot cards that she had placed neatly on her bed. They were faced down and she feared the worse if she were to turn one of them up.

"I think I'll just bathe and change clothing right now." She murmured, and left her room with a new clean dress to change into after she got cleaned up.

Shortly afterwards, she had returned to her room to find it still looking the same as she had left it. Sitting down on her bed, she had glanced at the cards again. 'Maybe just one..?' She shook her head, 'No, I always give bad fortunes. I don't want to know what's going to happen.' She stood up, rather difficultly, and glared down at her dress.

"Why are these things made to be to uncomfortable?" She huffed, crossing her arms. 'Maybe if I made some adjustments to it..' She mentally grinned and turned slowly to her night table, opening a drawer, which revealed a shiny pair of scissors.

A few adjustments later, Hitomi now stood in a short dress that ended just above her knees. She had cut and ripped off, in her opinion, all the unnecessary fabric that had been bothering her and now just wore a forest green and emerald green dress that still had some threaded designs to it. 'Perfect.' She nodded to herself before walking out into the hall to search for food.

Upon her arrival at the dinning hall, she had received a great deal of odd looks. The cat girl, Merle, had started to form and insult to send to Hitomi when Van had placed his hand on her head and made her quiet down. During this he had kept his dark brown eyes trained on Hitomi the entire time, until she had taken a place at the table.

Allen had nudged the King, while snickering a bit, "Lord Van, your dinner will get cold."

Dryden snickered also, "Yes, Fanelia, it might get cold if you keep using your time to stare at the beautiful young lady over there."

Van turned his head briskly to the two boys and narrowed his eyes in annoyance while trying his best to hide his blush. "Be quiet and eat." He said harshly to them.

Hitomi was blushing like a tomato while attempting to ignore the boys. Millerna had been nice enough to start up a conversation with her to keep her mind off of them. Somehow, her mind had drifted off to other topics as well as her vision. She was currently staring at a flaming torch that helped light up the room. The flames were capturing her interest and soon enough, she started to hear yelling.

_"Burn! Burn, burn, burn! Ahahaha! Let's see you try and stop this!" Dilandau laughed, flames encircling him._

Hitomi's eyes had glazed over and she started to whimper. "I-it's so hot.."

_A red guymelef had flames spouting out of his arms._

She put her hands to her face, "St-stop!"

This had caught everyone's attention.

_There was a war going on. A very fierce battle between Zaibach soldiers.. and them! She could see Gaddess and Reeden jumping on a soldier, Allen kicking another in the shins, even Millerna was fighting! All the cooks.. They were there too!_

A bright flash of light clouded her vision and she could briefly see a figure with transparent wings holding a pendant before all had gone black.

"Mistress…"

"Mistress…"  
  
_"Stop! Please stop it! I don't want to see the future! I am no Goddess.. Leave me alone."_

"Mistress, we will protect you."

The ground beneath started to give out and crumble away. "Someone help me!" She breathed and screamed, reaching out to grasp anything. "Help me please!" She cried urgently, falling into the dark depths.

"Mistress… Hitomi…" A white winged figure flew towards her, avoiding all ruble and reaching out towards her, grasping her hand and grinning.

"Y-you again."

He continued to smirk at her, his face shadowed.

"B-but, wh-who are you?"

Her eyes had opened tiredly to see a pair of sky blue eyes looking down at her in worry.

"You gave us quite a scare, Hitomi." Allen smiled, stepping off his stool that was located next to Hitomi's bed, and back onto the floor. "I'll go tell Van you're awake—"

Hitomi gasped, shooting up, "Van! No! Don't get Van! I'm fine! In fact, I'll be down in a bit." She forced a bright smile until Allen had hesitantly left the room. 'Thank the gods..' She mentally sighed in relief. 'Now what?'

She cringed and placed her hands on the deck of tarot cards. 'I guess, this leaves me with no other choice..'

"I am the cause of all this. I may be responsible for so many deaths if I keep staying here." She sniffled, "It's only logical that I leave." 'To save them all.' She pulled the deck to her chest and closed her eyes. "These will always stay with me and guide me." With that said, she had stood up and walked to her door. She had opened it and peaked side to side to see that the halls were completely empty.

The girl had tip toed out and broken into a run down the hall, bare foot mind you, until she stopped at the staircase. There was no one in the foyer, as expected since they were probably all still dinning. She had peaked around to make sure no one was looking, and had gone down the steps until she had reached the doors. Opening one of them slowly, she winced at every squeaking noise it made and casually slipped out unnoticed by anyone.

Except for Van.

Who stood at the top of the stairs, where she once stood.

"Hitomi…" His voice cracked in sadness.

Ever since she had left, he had locked himself in his room, standing on his balcony and staring out at the forest that blocked his view of the kingdom. He sighed solemnly, glancing back at his door where his friends pounded to let them in. 'Why did she leave? Why couldn't she stay? Was it something I did?' He growled, "Damnit! Why the hell is this affecting me?!" He walked back into in room and knocked over his chair in anger, "I wanted her to leave, didn't I?!" He glared at the nearly black pendant on his little table menacingly.

"It's all _her_ fault I'm like this! Damn that Wing Goddess!" He snarled.

He ignored them, 'No, I don't truly feel this way, do I?' He shook his head, 'I despise the one who placed me under this curse. But I've taken a liking to the one I thought would break it.' He sighed loudly, walking back out to his balcony.

"Is it my fault she's gone? Did I frighten her?"

His eyes darkened, 'I nearly killed her several times, and I've yelled at her as well.' "It probably is my fault. She despises me." He sulked.

.:.:.:. With Hitomi .:.:.:.

She was sitting behind the castle hidden behind a large tree close to tears. "Why can't I leave?" She found herself asking to no one in particular. The visions from earlier kept coming back to her and repeating over and over again.

_"Burn! Burn, burn, burn! Ahahaha! Let's see you try and stop this!" Dilandau laughed, flames encircling him._

She clutched her head in agony.

"Stop!"

She trembled with fear until the image of the white haired man disappeared. Ever since she reached this spot, she hasn't been able to move. She couldn't bring her muscles to move, as if they were too heavy for her to lift. Yet, she could move backwards, back to the castle without a problem.

"I'm trying to save them and stop this petty battle from developing. So why can't I leave? Is it so wrong for me to try and save them?" She spoke to no one in particular. Her eyes had then spotted something landing next to her. Her emerald green eyes had widened at the object.

It was a glowing white feather.

She had gingerly picked it up, her eyes glazing over. "Am I being called back?" She ran her fingers over the white feather and then it had suddenly disappeared. She could hear thunder in the distance and felt the winds starting to increase.

"Van-sama!" Merle cried.

Dilandau grinned, "I guess she isn't here. Oh well, you'll just have to die then."

Hitomi clutched her head once more, 'Is-is this what's going to happen, if I'm not there? Is Van… Is Van going to die tonight?' She gasped, "No Van!" She sniffled, 'I tried to stop a battle from forming by running away. I tried to change a prediction again, and by doing so, I just made it worse! I have to be there! I have to stop this!' She stood up weakly and turned back towards the castle. 'Even if that means I have to go with Dilandau.'

"I'm coming Van." She clenched her fists, 'It's about time I stop running away, isn't it?'

.:.:.:. With Van .:.:.:.

Clouds now covered the grounds and thunder was booming loudly. Morning would be very soon. Despite the clouds blocking out the sun, he could still feel the magic surrounding him to continue the curse. While he was on his balcony, however, he could see the trees moving as if something large were coming out of it. He could also see five Zaibach men coming out as well.

"Their here." He said in alarm and pushed himself away from the balcony to run to his door. He had ripped it open, his friends staring at him oddly, "Allen hurry and round up as many soldiers as possible. The Zaibach men are here to take Hitomi."

"But she isn't even here!" Millerna exclaimed.

"No, but we can buy her some time." Van replied.

Allen's eyes sparkled, "We haven't fought in a long time." He noted, "I'll go round them up and lead them to the front of the castle." He said before running down the halls followed by Gaddess and Reeden.

"Millerna and Merle, both of you will either have to hide or work together to help."

Merle puffed up her chest, "I'll help, Van-sama!"

"Good, go tell the cooks to get out their hottest and smelliest food yet." Van told the two who had nodded in agreement and fled to the kitchens.

"What would you like me to do, Van?" Dryden asked.

"You aren't the best in armed combat, I would suggest you help the ladies carry out the foul substances." Van told him then they had both gone their separate ways.

"I won't let anyone touch Hitomi, even if it kills me." Van promised, gripping at the handle of his Fanelian sword tide to his lower back.

"I'll protect her."

Little did he know, that the girl of his thoughts was running towards his castle, and that the dark pendant in his room started to pulse.

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**A/N Ooooh, well I think that there will be eleven chapters max for this story. I know it's short, but it's also sweet. Lol, my first Escaflowne story isn't half bad, eh? Anyways, if you want to see pics of what Van looks like during the day, just e-mail me. My address is on the bottom of my profile page. Well, R&R!**


	10. The Wing Goddess

**Disclaimers: I do not own Escaflowne**

**I'VE GOT PICS OF VAN IN BEAST FORM!**

**AND PICS OF HITOMI FROM THIS CHAPPY!!**

**E-MAIL ME IF YOU WANT THEM!**

**A/N Wow… left the caps on… Oh well! Enjoy the chapter!!!**

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**Draconian Beast**

**Chapter 10. The Wing Goddess**

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Dilandau grinned maniacally behind the helmet of his guymelef, "We're almost through!" He screamed, licking his lips in anticipation. 'She's mine. Little missy thought she could get away, we'll just have to see about that!' He laughed.

Once the cloaked guymelef got through the foliage, his men had stopped and waited for further orders. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go in there!" Dilandau ordered with a shriek.

The dragon slayers had nodded their heads and run to the doors. The small group of soldiers had then tried to open the doors but failed miserably. "They won't open." Gatty piped up. Then they had all tried again at the same time, bursting through the doors and falling down in the process.

It was quiet inside the castle.

A bit too quiet for their liking.

When they had all stood up, one by one they walked further into the foyer of

the castle.

"NOW!" Allen shouted.

Chefs standing up on the second floor balcony had poured boiling hot and spicy soup down onto two of the soldiers, Dallet and Viole. They had cried in surprise and started to shout in pain as the vile concoction melted holes in their armor.

"It's hot!" Dallet yelled.

"Aie!!" Viole squirmed.

Miniature guards led by Allen, Gaddess, and Reeden attacked the remaining soldiers

Dilandau cursed from outside the building, "If those damn idiots can't bring her out then I'll smoke her out!" A guymelef arm poked out of the cloak, flames burning at the tip.

"Coward!" The dragon slayer captain had heard and narrowed his eyes. "Who dares call me a coward!" He scouted around until he found a dark haired man standing on a balcony. "You!"

"You're a coward, Dilandau! Why don't you fight like a true warrior." Van spat.

"How dare you speak that way to a member of the black dragon clan!"

"You are the one disrespecting them by fighting in that suit of armor... Hiding like a coward." Van mentally grinned when he heard his shriek, "I am the last white dragon of my kind, why don't you test your black magic on me, Dilandau." 'I know I won't last, since now I'm only human. But I can give Hitomi some time to run.'

"I accept your worthless challenge, Dragon!" Dilandau grinned, walking his guymelef to the balcony. The cloaked armor had then kneeled and revealed itself, Dilandau soon emerging from within it. He stood, his blood red eyes gleaming with hatred and malice and leapt from the kneeling thing onto the balcony, next to Van. "Prepare to die, Dragon."

Van smirked, "That's doubtful. Unfortunately for you, you have to catch me first." He kept his smirk the entire time he escaped the slayers clutches. Somehow, they had ended up on the roof of his castle, battling it out. Van had finally unsheathed his sword and fought Dilandau with his blade.

"Some swordsman you are!" Dilandau mocked, shoving him.

Van glanced at the Horizon and winced, 'With these clouds in the way I can't see when the sun will come up. I can only rely on the magic building up in me that will tell me when I'll transform.' He thought as thunder boomed and lightning struck the ground.

Dilandau snorted in disgust striking Van's blade with his own, successfully making the King drop it. He held it to his neck, "Any last words, Dragon?"

"_Run_."

He laughed, "What a waste! Why would I want to run?"

Van had lowered his head, and snarled in a beastly manner.

Dilandau narrowed hi eyes, "What the hell is wron—"

Van's skin paled and his hair turned a deathly white. Claws grew and fangs poked their ways out of his mouth as blue marking formed on his arms. His eyes, now shadowed by his lowered head, were a deep red with slits and raven black wings pierces through his back, acting as a dark cloak, feather pooling around him.

Dilandau kept his sword trained on the darkened figure, his blade lightly quivering from shock. "Wh-what are you? You beast!"

Van growled, "Van Fanel.. _Your worst nightmare_!" He barked, lifting his head, sending waves of magic around him to Dilandau, and effectively pushing him away. With Dilandau now further from him, he had spread his black wings and lifted himself into the air, flying at the captain.

Dilandau curse under his breath and concentrated his magic on Van, using the same wave technique while also controlling the wind. "I'll kill you!" He shrieked.

Van struggled against the wind, flapping his dark wings heavily to fly away. He had flown up and swooped down gaining speed in his descent and had used his claws to slash at Dilandau.

"My face!" He screamed, "You touched my face!" He howled.

"_Heh_."

.:.:.:. Inside the castle .:.:.:.

Meanwhile, inside the foyer, a war was going on between grown soldiers and small beings. There wasn't too much damage so far to worry about, since weapons weren't used, but it was getting very intense.

Merle stuck out her tongue at Chesta, "Can't get me!" She mewed.

Chesta growled and launched himself at the cat girl, but was intercepted by a very angry Millerna who had slapped him and kicked him in the shines.

"You horrible person! What kind of man are you?! Picking on children!" Millerna scolded.

"Ow!" He was kicked again then scratched by the cat girl.

"I'm gunna use you as a scratching post!" Merle hissed.

Gatty struggled against the miniature soldiers, having difficulties killing children. He had instead decided to just injure them and beat them instead of using his blade. His method eventually brought him down and until he was being sat on by the soldiers.

"Heh, you ain't so tough." Reeden laughed to himself. "Hey Boss! We got one down!"

Gaddess yipped and jumped on Guimel's back, "Hey there!"

Guimel struggled with the boy on his back, "Get off!" He shouted desperately, yelping when the boy had gripped onto his blond curls. "My hair!"

"Bah! What kind of boy are you? You're gunna look like the commander if you keep this up!" Gaddess said, hearing Reeden laughs in the background and Allen's scowls of protest.

Dryden smirked coyly and casually walked by Guimel, sticking his leg out and tripping the poor boy who had fallen flat on his face. "Have a nice trip."

Gaddess cheered, "Yeah! Direct hit!"

Dryden shrugged and sat himself down on the dragon slayers back since the poor thing had passed out. "That was some fall." He snickered, pushing up his glasses.

Allen rolled his eyes and had continued his battle with Viole. With the holes in his armor, it was easy to place hits on him. He also had the advantage of using a wooden spoon as his weapon, courtesy of the head chef.

_WHACK!_

"Ow! Give me that you pipsqueak!" Viole sneered, grabbing the wooden spoon and lifting it up.

"Not a good idea." Allen smirked, being lifted with the spoon and giving Viole a swift kick to the jaw, knocking him out cold. He had let go of the spoon as Viole had fallen back, landing nicely on his feet with his blond locks flowing behind himself.

Reeden whistled, "Nice work commander."

There was only one left, and that was Dallet who was now surrounded by the mob of children. With his entire comrades unconscious, he stood no chance against them all. "Pl-please don't hurt me!"

Mrs. Miyano crossed her arms in front of her little chest, "Girls, bring out the rope!" She announced.

The group had tied together the slayers in the center of the foyer. All of them were unconscious safe for Dallet who merely whimpered. Thankfully, they had kept them all in the foyer and avoided a big mess. The only real disaster they had to deal with at the moment was the tiled floor. Parts of it had melted away from the soup..

"What kind of soup was that Mrs. Miyano?" Millerna asked.

"My ultra deluxe spicy lemon surprise." She replied, nodding proudly, "A family recipe!"

"Yeah, that's poisonous.." One of them murmured.

"What was that?!"

"Nothing!"

Dryden had earlier gone outside to check for any more warriors and had noticed the large Guymelef a few yards away. "What the.." He could hear the clanging of metal and snarls from above, "Van!" He noticed two white haired figures, "The other one has to be Dilandau." He cursed and sprinted back into the foyer.

"Everyone! Get to Van's room now!"

Merle twitched her ears and blinked up at him, "Why? What's wrong with Van-sama?"

"He's on the roof with Dilandau!"

"The one Hitomi was talking about?" Allen asked. At Dryden's nod they had gone up into the King's bedroom. "No matter what, we have to protect the pendant." Allen had announced. Various heads had nodded and a good chunk of the group had gone onto the balcony just in time to see Van use his magic on the black dragon, pieces of stone crumbling away from the intensity.

"Van is going to kill him!" Millerna gasped.

"Van-sama!" Merle cried.

"All of you, go to the roof! I'll stay behind and protect this." Allen told them.

"B-but commander—" Gaddess argued.

"Go! Now!"

Dryden nodded, "He's right! We need to go and try to help!"

.:.:.:. With Hitomi .:.:.:.

_"Mistress…"_

"Mistress..."

"Wing Goddess..."

Hitomi clenched her fists tightly, running at full speed to the castle. She didn't know how long she had been running for, but her legs were sore and her lungs burned. All she could see were trees, trees and more trees! She could have sworn she hadn't gone that far from the castle…

Hitomi came to a stop and closed her eyes tightly, breathing in and out, thunder booming loudly in her ears, "Please… Lead me there. Tell me where to go. I can hear you Escaflowne, but your voice is coming from all directions! Show me one way! The right way!" She pleaded.

Then she heard it.

The shriek of a dragon.

She twisted her body in the direction of the noise, "Esca.. Flowne?" She murmured. There was another shriek that came from the same direction she was turned to. She had wiped the sweat off her forehead and nodded, 'You're there…' She broke into a run once more towards the dragon, knowing full and well it was the God of the Sky guiding her way.

Soon enough, she could see the exit of the forest and the castle in the far distance. The dragon had shrieked one last time before leaving her to continue her way on her own. She was at the back of the castle and had no way of entering the back way so she had run at full speed around the large building until she had found the large pair of doors and stopped. She had eyed them wearily noting they were opened and panted hard.

To her right, she could the see the red 'melef from her vision, 'Dilandau.. He's here..' Lightning had bolted and thunder boomed, leading her eyes to the top of the castle. Her eyes had gone wide when she had spotted Van flying and swooping down to attack something. "Van's fighting—" She could see the King's opponent brandish his blade, "—Dilandau!" She gaped and turned back to the doors, running up to stairs and into the building.

The girl had hardly noticed the tied up soldiers in the center of the foyer. The chefs and Fanelian guards were guarding them as she ran up the steps of the next staircase. She had passed by several rooms and had just registered which way she was going in. It was towards Van's room.

Upon arriving at the lord's room, she had noticed Allen standing inside next to the pendant. "Allen!" Hitomi panted heavily, slumping to the floor to gasp in some air.

"Hitomi!" Allen sputtered, running to the exhausted woman worriedly, "Are you alright? What are you doing here?"

"I'm f-fine. Tell me how I can… How I can get to the roof…" She gasped, weakly standing back to her feet.

"Y-you can't! If you do, Dilandau will see you!"

"I don't care! I'm going to protect Van!" Hitomi blurted, "Please tell me where to go!" She pleaded, having finally caught her breath.

Allen had a smile tug at his lips but shook his head furiously, "Okay! You have to go straight down this hall until you get to end. There should be a staircase you can take to get up to the roof! The others are already there!"

Hitomi groaned, "More stairs?" She said before leaving once more.

It hadn't taken her long to get there but the adventure up the stairs made her grind her teeth in frustration. She had finally spotted the gang of children standing at the top of the stairs. She had mentally grinned, but once she had gotten to the top and shoved everyone away, her heart had stopped.

Van had used his magic to break Dilandau blade into small fragments, about to strike him with his claws.

Apparently, the Zaibach captain had been waiting for this, and knew exactly what to do. He had used his black dragon magic and moved the larger fragment to Van, piercing his stomach. Immediately, the cursed man had plummeted to the ground roughly, black feathers circling him.

"No! Van!"

"Van-sama!" Merle cried.

Dilandau grinned, "I guess she isn't here. Oh well, you'll just have to die then."

Van clutched his wound on his stomach, coughing up blood and glaring at him.

Dryden cringed and turned, "Hitomi!" He whispered, "You're here!"

She just nodded weakly, tears forming in her eyes. The others had seen her also and she had sprinted away from them and towards Van.

"Van!!" She cried.

Dilandau grinned down at the dying boy and turned to the voice of his woman, "Oh, so you are here you little witch."

She ran by him and ignored him completely to get to Van. By the time she was at his side, he was lying in a pool of his own blood. She had sat down, tears flowing from her eyes, "Van..?" She sniffled, "Please look at me.. Please stay with me…"

The King only laid there, but had cracked open his eyes weakly to look at her. They were changing from red to brown constantly before closing again, "Hito…"

"Van! No Van! Please!" She placed a hand on his chest, shaking him, "Wake up! Van!"

Dilandau chuckled darkly, "Too bad, girly. I killed him. He's gone now."

"Van!" She sniffled again, her tears flowing down. "Wake up.. Don't die."

Her tears glowed.

There was a bright flash of light, causing everyone to shield their eyes.

The pendant that was previously in the King's chambers was now floating above Van, half pink.

"Look!" Dryden gasped, "It's the pendant!"

"Maybe.. Maybe the Wing Goddess will appear.." Millerna whispered.

The group had gasped when they could see Hitomi's figure moving up to stand, her body engulfed in a glow.

Then without warning, a pair of transparent snow-white wings had bursted from her back, surrounding her being.

"It's Hitomi!" Merle gasped, "She _is_ the Goddess!"

The shine in Hitomi's eyes had left and turned to a dull green, her torn dress flowing in length and turning into a pure white. White straps hung gently down her arms revealing her bare shoulders and a bit of skin on her arms before white long sleeves started their way down her arms to her hands.

Pink ribbons held the sleeves in place on her arms; ribbons also crisscrossing up her torso leading to a pink gem on her dress. Gold sparkling earrings hung on her ears, a small white feather earring also on her left ear next to the gold earring and finally a white clasp on the shell of her left ear.

The Wing Goddess now stood there in her glory, glowing gold. She had grasped the semi dark pendant that had been floating, and held it to herself.

'The Wing Goddess.. I am the Wing Goddess… I _really_ am..' Hitomi thought to herself, her dress blowing from the winds around her.

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**A/N Ooooh, nice eh? Suggested song for her transformation, "My only Love," from Sailor Moon. Yep, I like this! If you want pics of her Wing Goddess form e-mail me! I've got the pics! As well as Van's beast form! R&R!!!!!!!!!**


	11. What now?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Escaflowne**

**Thank you for your reviews!!**

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**Draconian Beast**

**Chapter 11. What Now?**

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Thunder boomed and lightning struck, but no rain was to be found. The winds were strong and the sky as dark as night. The true Wing Goddess stood as the only light within the darkness, her figure glowing a beautiful gold as she kneeled next to the fallen Lord. Her transparent wings flowed elegantly behind herself, protecting her from danger.

Hitomi sighed, and placed a hand on the King's chest while her other hand held the pendant. "Van Slanzar de Fanel, the curse placed upon you had specified that only the purest woman may save you." She spoke with a voice much stronger than her own.

Merle sniffled and clutched on Millerna's arm tightly, 'Please sa-save him.. Van-sama…'

Allen had reached the top of the stairs and panted heavily while tugging on Dryden's coat. "Dry—"

Dryden turned sharply and motioned for him to stay silent.

Allen did not understand and had turned towards the light source illuminating them all. 'Hi-Hitomi?' His eyes widened, 'She—The pendant! She called it!'

The Wing Goddess blinked down at him, "Well Van, who purer than the Wing Goddess herself?" She said, lowering her head towards his, "As Wing Goddess, I release you of this curse." She closed her eyes and kissed the Fanelian Lord tenderly, her glow now engulfing him as well.

Dilandau sputtered and tried to move to Hitomi, but an invisible barrier did not permit him to. "Da-damnit! Y-You vile woman!"

Merle gasped, "Van-sama! VAN-SAMA!" She cried happily.

Van's wounds healed themselves up, his silver hair turned to dark locks and his claws retracted. The pendant held in Hitomi's hands turned completely pink and pulsed happily as she pulled away from the King. He had blinked open his now wine colored eyes as opposed to brown colored, and sat up while looking down at himself.

"Wh-what…" He noticed his tattoo markings were on his arms and yet he had no claws and was perfectly conscious of his every move, "Is it possible… that I'm…"

"The cursed is broken, Fanelia." Hitomi spoke next to him, "You are now as you were.. A half Draconian Lord."

Van turned his head sharply at her, his eyes searching her dull green ones, "Hitomi! You saved me.."

"That I did, Van."

A glow had also come from the doorway where the children stood. Their bodies had also morphed, and they all stood as adults, save for Merle who now looked like a young teenaged cat girl. "We're ourselves!" Millerna gasped.

Dryden pushed his glasses up, "Apparently, the Wing Goddess has decided to spare us."

Reeden laughed, "Aww, now the boss doesn't look so much like a girl.." He turned to Allen and shrugged, "Nope, never mind, he still does!" He burst into laughter followed by Gaddess.

Allen narrowed his eyes in annoyance and snorted, "Ridiculous.." He muttered.

Van grinned, "Thank you, for saving us."

A smile tugged at Hitomi's lips and she grabbed his hand, lifting them bottom to their feet, her wings rustling noisily behind her. "I have a question for you, Van." At his nod she continued, "I ask that you become my protector while remaining the protector of all Fanelia."

Van's eyes glowed and he nodded, "I accept."

"Then The God of the Sky is at your command." She replied.

Dilandau growled, "Enough! Shut up!! Shut up! I didn't come from Zaibach to watch my fiancé transform into some Goddess! I came to get my weapon and to return her to Zaibach." Winds swirled around his figure, "If you don't hand her over now, I will torch this entire country with my Guymelef."

Van made no move to let the girl's hand go. He merely narrowed his eyes and snorted, "It is doubtful you can do such a thing.. Face it, Dilandau, you lose." He spoke strongly, "Now take your men and leave this country at once."

"Ha! I don't think so, _your majesty_! That girl is my property! She belonged to me ever since I met her family!"

"She belongs to no one."

"Feh, then suffer the consequences!" With that said, Dilandau had leapt off the roof and onto Van's balcony to get to his 'melef.

Hitomi turned to Van, "You will be needing some assistance." She told him, lifting her hand to reveal the pink pendant. "Escaflowne," It pulsed in her hand, "Show yourself now, and surrender your powers to the King of this land, Van Fanel!"

Just as Dilandau entered his red Guymelef, Escaflowne had appeared just below them, kneeling. The armor was all white with a pink gem on its chest.

Hitomi smiled and held the pendant to her chest, "Go now, defeat him.." She collapsed onto the cement, her wings fading and her clothing returning to normal. The glow from her body had dissipated and her eyes were no longer dull but held light in them. She was panting and the King had kneeled next to her worriedly.

"Hitomi! Are you alright? Y-you changed—"

"I'm okay—J-just go! Hurry!" She begged.

He nodded and ran off the roof despite his friend's shouts of protest, landing softly on Escaflowne's knee. He was a warrior and half Draconian after all, such a height was nothing for him.. He had entered the armor and lifted it up, Dilandau standing a little ways away from his. Van could hear the boy chuckling and noted that he had taken that moment to use his invisibility cloak.

"Ha! Try to find me now Dragon!" Dilandau shrieked.

Van shifted his eyes, 'I can't see him! What do I do now?' He thought, as he unsheathed Escaflowne's sword. He gripped the sword tightly and waited, 'He'll come at me when I least expect it..'

"_Behind you!_"

Hitomi's voice rang and he had turned in time to stop a mecha arm from tearing through him. He had cut the thing off, white hot mecha leaking out.

'I got him..' Van thought in triumph.

Dilandau growled, backing away and hiding the damaged arm behind his cloak, 'Damn that Dragon.. I'll take great pleasure in killing him!' He circled the Escaflowne quietly and stopped, 'I'll set this entire place afire..'

"_Van! He's at your right_!"

'That wench--! She's helping him!' Dilandau shifted his eyes back at the white 'melef, barely dodging the large sword. Unfortunately, the damn armor had struck his cloak and damaged it. Dilandau grunted, 'Stupid thing is of no use to me anymore anyways…' Dilandau had pulled the cloak away and begun to battle with the machine. He used the remaining arm of his red 'melef to set afire the entire battlegrounds.

"Burn! Burn, burn, burn! Ahahaha! Let's see you try and stop this!" Dilandau laughed, flames encircling him.

Van winced, the flames were so hot, "Stop it! You're destroying everything!" He took note of the flames getting closer to the castle. 'Bastard..' Van mentally cursed and charged at Dilandau, "I order you to stop this!" He shouted, and sliced at Dilandau. 'I will fight to stop him. I will fight to keep the peace.'

Dilandau shriek with glee as he sent his flames to Van. "Burn dragon! Die and burn with this run down country of yours!" He chuckled darkly.

A dragon shrieked.

Dilandau blinked, the flames spouting from his 'melefs arm ceasing. 'What is that..' He looked to the spot where the White Guymelef once stood. There was nothing but flames. 'Ha! I got him!'

The dragon shrieked once more.

Dilandau's face had grown paler as a dark shadow flying above the burning flames circled him. 'A real dragon?! Ha! I'll just kill this one like I did the others.. And Van.'

The dragon descended, but it wasn't quite the dragon Dilandau was expecting. It wasn't green or covered in scales. In fact, it was the whitest dragon he had ever seen. Dilandau backed away, 'Wh-what! But that's—'

"Dilandau!" Van shouted, tugging on the controls of his Guymelef, "This ends here!" Escaflowne's metallic wings flapped and the machine made several noises sounding much like the shriek of a dragon.

Dilandau snorted, "As if that's going to scare me, Fanelia! I don't care if your Guymelef can fly!" Mecha poured out of the red 'melef arm forming a sword, "I'll just cut off those wings of yours!"

Van growled and dove at him, a sword held in the dragon's metallic claws.

The two swords clashed with each other.

Van had manoeuvred the dragon to use its legs to claw at Dilandau, "I won't let you take Hitomi!" Escaflowne's sword pressed further against the mecha sword.

Dilandau screamed as he lost his balance and toppled over onto his back, a white dragon pressing its weight down on him. The captain had a brief moment to open up his 'melef and to escape just as Van had crushed the arm and the legs of it. "Th-that thing is crazy!" He sputtered as he backed away from the crushed metal.

Van had moved Escaflowne, forcing it to stare down at the Zaibach warrior, "Dilandau, I here by banish you and your men from Fanelia! This country does not tolerate your insolence! Now leave…"

Shortly after Van's speech, the grown chefs and Fanelian guards from within the castle had careful led the Dragon Slayers to their captain, being mindful of the flames. Van grinned and flapped Escaflowne's wings, bringing him in the air once more, just above the castle to survey the damage done by the Zaibach soldiers.

"Is it over…?" Merle asked, her tail swishing curiously behind herself.

Hitomi sighed and moved a little closer to the edge of the roof, "I think it is." She stared down at the gem in her hands and placed the necklace around her neck.

It had pulsed once.

Hitomi blinked then stared down at the ground below that was engulfed in flames, the thunder still booming and the lightning still illuminating the sky.

A tile had fallen and landed into the flames.

The roof began to crumble beneath her feet.

She screamed.

"_Van!!_"

Said person had shot his head down and visibly paled. "_Hitomi!_" He yelled, letting the controls of the white dragon go to dive down.

Everything from there seemed to be moving in slow motion. It was like her previous visions. Her hand reaching out and the shadowed figure falling towards her.

White feathers..

She gasped at the sight.

Pure white wings had bursted from Van's back and he gave two powerful flaps before he was inches away from her.

"Van!!" Her hand reached further and he grasped it, pulling her to him. He held her tightly has he swooped down then back up, just missing the red hot flames that waited for them down below.

That's when it began to finally rain, slowly putting out the flames.

Hitomi shivered as it poured rain on them both. Van had landed them in the centre of the roof, his wings glowing around them. "Are you alright?" At her nod he smiled, "Good, I'll put you down, but don't go near the edge again, alright?"

She giggled and nodded, "Thank you for saving me."

Van shook his head and placed her on her feet, "I should be thanking you, Hitomi."

_"Hitomi!!"_

The girl had turned around briefly before getting mulled over by an excited Merle, "Whoa!"

"How could you do that! Are you stupid!! Are you okay?? Thank the gods Van-sama was there!!" She hissed, and then shook, "Ew! This rain is making my fur feel gross!"

Allen sighed and walked over to Van, "Well, the curse has ended and Dilandau has been forced to leave. What now?"

Van grinned, "Hitomi, would you like to come and survey the area with me?"

Hitomi blinked and managed to escape Merle's deadly grasp, "I wouldn't mind."

They had taken to the sky, Van holding Hitomi against his chest as he flapped his angelic wings. They had both noted that the fires were gone. Van had also seen his Escaflowne sitting perfectly in the mud still in its dragon form.

"We'll have to clear this forest if I ever want to reunite my kingdom." Van spoke.

Hitomi nodded, "I doubt that will be a problem." She pointed down at the forest, "Look."

As if it were magic, the forest separating old Fanelia and the new Fanelia was pulling away. The rain had also stopped and the clouds were separating themselves, allowing the light to shine through. The village people had begun to stream out of their homes to continue their usual duties, until one had shouted about the forest being gone.

"I guess you have a lot of catching up to do.." Hitomi said, "Your people will want to see their King."

Van shrugged, "I'll start with posting guards around our country and rebuilding the gates." He grinned having spotted Dilandau and his men being escorted out by his soldiers. He flew down to ground level, landing softly. "But first, perhaps the people of Fanelia should know of their King's return."

"Look! It's an angel!"

"A draconian!"

Hitomi smiled brightly, "I guess you're right." She was placed down on her feet.

"Hitomi! What is the meaning of this?!"

She winced hearing the voice of her mother. "Great.."

Van grunted, seeing a woman push her way through the crowd that was slowly growing in size around them. He had placed an arm around Hitomi's waist and brought her to him, "Do no fret." He whispered to her.

"Hitomi!" The woman said as she pushed her way completely through, "Do not make me repeat the question! I just saw Dilandau leaving with the Guards!"

Van growled, "Excuse me madam, but you have no authority to use that tone of voice on Hitomi."

"You watch your mouth young man!"

Van narrowed his eyes, "I would advise for you to never speak to your King in that manner ever again."

The woman sputtered, "Wh-what! You lie! Our King has long been dead!"

Van grinned, "That I'm afraid, is a lie. For I stand here in good health." His wings shielded them, "I have returned to take my place once more on the throne. My name is King Van Slanzar de Fanel, and Miss Hitomi is now an inhabitant of my castle."

The village people whispered amongst themselves before they started to kneel. Hitomi's mother remained standing in shock.

"Are there anymore who doubt me?" Van asked, hearing none opposing him, "Good," He smiled, "I do apologize for my disappearance. Now that I have returned however, I would love to help make any repairs to homes that are otherwise uninhabitable." There were cheers all around. "And I will re-establish our connections with our neighbouring countries to help bring supplies to re-build homes and help with farming."

Hitomi sighed in Van embrace, 'He's being so nice and caring. I can't wait to see Fanelia in its glory once more. No old Fanelia or new Fanelia, just Fanelia.'

After Van's long speech, he had taken Hitomi in his arms and flown her back to the castle.

Things were starting to look up for the two.

'…But what now?'

'Sure, I'm the Wing Goddess.. But that doesn't mean anything in the real world.. And…'

'Van.. I kissed him.. Didn't I?..'

'What now..?'

'What am I to _him_..?'

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**A/N I hope that this was a good chapter for you guys. I really do. All that's left now is and epilogue! Well, R&R!**


	12. My Angel

**Disclaimers: I do not own Escaflowne**

**A/N Whoa, this is the earliest I have ever ended a story… Probably 'cause it's my only Esca story and I've been updating it after each Inuyasha update.. Anywho, Enjoy the epilogue! Thank you for reviewing!**

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**Draconian Beast**

**Epilogue. My Angel**

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Van groaned in frustration, "Establishing reconnections with other countries is more difficult than I thought it would be…" He dug a hand into his dark locks and leaned on it as he signed various papers on his desk. Allen had come in at one point to tell him that he and his crew were going to return to Asturia soon with the princess and her Fiancé Dryden.

Van huffed and placed down his quill, pushing himself away from his desk. He had hosted a celebration with all of Fanelia shortly after he had returned to normal. He grinned, remembering Hitomi in her gowns. He had Millerna re-draw Hitomi's Wing Goddess dress and had a seamstress make it in time for the celebration. She looked magnificent on his arm while he wore his Fanelia gowns.

He could also clearly remember one moment they shared in his gardens.

.:.:.:.Flash back .:.:.:.

"Where are we going?" Hitomi asked curiously, "The festivities are within the castle, not out here." She said as he led her to the same spot where he had given her a rose.

"Well, I saw it fit for me to bring you here."

She tilted her head to the side, her feather earring hanging low, "Why?"

Van smiled warmly, "Hitomi I gave you a gift when we last stood here." He explained, "And I wish to give you another."

"Y-you don't have to! It's enough that you're letting me stay here! I couldn't ask anything of you Van. Really… You even let Yukari stay with me… Please you don't have to do anything else!" She blushed and lowered her head, 'He's being so nice and.. I can't believe I keep thinking of him.. And me..'

"Nonsense, you freed me of a curse that was bound to kill me eventually. You are the Wing Goddess and you've done so much for us." Van blushed, "And.." He took a nervous step forward, wrapping his arms around her, "And… I care for you."

Hitomi sighed, wrapping her arms around his torso, "I care a lot about you too… I don't know when it happened.. But it did."

He chuckled, "Well I'm glad to know that the feelings are returned." He lowered one hand and fished something out of his pocket, "Otherwise, this ring would go to waste." He lifted it to her sight.

Hitomi blinked, it was a silver ring with a red gem in the centre and two dragons circling it with green gem eyes.

"It's a courting ring to show everyone that you are special to me and that I intend to one day perhaps marry you, Hitomi." He blushed again.

"I.. Thank you!" She embraced him tightly, "Thank you Van.." 'For returning my feelings, for being with me.'

Then…

He kissed her.

.:.:.:. End of flashback .:.:.:.

'To think that I'm courting the Wing Goddess.. It was rather odd though.. That the woman had shown up…' Van thought.

.:.:.:. Flash back.:.:.:.

Hitomi's face glowed with happiness when they separated and she had him slip the ring on her right hand.

_Win dain a lotica  
En vai tu ri  
Si lo ta_

She whipped her head around, trying to locate the voice, "Van..!" She whispered nervously, "D-do you hear that?"

_Fin dein a loluca  
En dragu a sei lain  
Vi fa-ru les shutai am  
En riga-lint_

"Hear what?" Van cocked his head to the side.

_Win chent a lotica  
En vai tu ri  
Si lo ta_

"Her song.. The woman's voice she's—" She turned to him, but found him frozen, "Van? Van!"

_"Do not fret, little one."_

It was the same voice, the woman's voice.

Hitomi had turned, noticing the woman standing there in robes with her long hair flowing back. She had green eye's and blond her, which made them resemble each other undoubtedly safe for the fact that she seemed transparent. "Y-you're—"

_"I am the Wing Goddess from the past." She answered. _

Hitomi gaped at her, "The one that cursed Van?"

_"Sadly, yes… I was not myself when I cursed him. My body may have been gone but my spirit had been bound to this place until the curse was lifted." She explained, "I had been trying to call previous Wing Goddess's but they chose to ignore my call… All except for you." She smiled.  
_  
"You've been calling me? To free yourself or Van?" She asked cautiously.

_"The King had not deserved such a curse. He had been in pain from his family being killed. I should not have been so rash. But I can't deny that I wanted to set my own self free." She admitted._

Hitomi nodded, "I believe you, but why are you telling me all this?"

_"I thought you should know and I also thank you for setting both of us free. I'm sorry for the trouble I have caused in the past. You are not forced to forgive me.. But I am sorry non the less."  
_  
"I understand."

_"Good, now I will finally be able to move on. Good bye… Hitomi Kanzaki." Her body shimmered and began to fade away._

"Wait! What's your name?"

_"…Sora."_ She whispered before her form disappeared.

"Good bye Sora."

"Who's Sora?" Van asked in confusion.

"Van!" Hitomi turned, "You're back!"

"Back from what?"

She had then explained to him what she had just seen.

.:.:.:. End of Flash back .:.:.:.

"Van-sama!" Merle whined as she bursted into the room, "Allen and his crew are leaving with Millerna!"

"I suppose you want me to see them off?" Van asked as he rose from his seat.

"No! I want you to keep Millerna here! Who else am I suppose to bug or use as a scratching post? And Gaddess too.." Her tail swished behind herself as she blushed under her fur.

Van chuckled and walked over to her, "I'm sorry, but I can't do that. But not to worry, they'll visit Merle."

She pouted, "They better! Now let's go say goodbye! Hitomi is already there!" She tugged on his arm and mewed happily.

They had arrived just as the men had finished loading the Crusade with supplies. Hitomi was hugging Millerna and consoling her since she was crying a bit. Dryden had eventually taken Millerna into his arms and led her to the King to bid their goodbyes and board the ship.

Allen had bowed elegantly and kissed Hitomi's hand, causing Van to growl and glare at the knight until he moved away to come to him. It was a sad day but also happy since Millerna could finally see her father once more and marry Dryden. It was close to impossible to manoeuvre the Crusade in their small forms under the curse, and it was too dangerous to go by horse and carriage for they would be vulnerable to any attacks.

Millerna and Dryden waved in the window as they floated in the air due to the levy stones. Merle was hissing in anger but that had died down as soon as she caught Gaddess winking at her. She had blushed and then stuck out her tongue before hiding behind Van.

"Everything is as it should be." Hitomi sighed in relief and turned to Van, "You know, out of all the girls in this country and even in Gaea, I would have never thought that I would be chosen to be a Wing Goddess. It's strange and I'm happy I was able to set things straight." She smiled warmly.

Van nodded and walked to her.

"Oh great, you're going to get all mushy!" Merle hissed, "I'll just take my leave now." She dropped on all fours and ran into the castle, leaving the two to laugh.

"Merle will never cease to amaze me." Hitomi giggled.

"She is very unique." He brought her into an embrace, "Just like you. My saviour.."

"Don't forget, you saved me too! My angel." She reminded him.

He thought, "Hmmm, yes you're right, my goddess. But you've done far more for me than I did for you and I thank you… For not running away when things got difficult. I… I really do.. Well…" He blushed, "I really do want you to stay with me.. Be with me.." He whispered softly. 'I want you, Hitomi.' He thought.

She smiled, "And I plan on staying by your side Van. I always will." She pecked him on the cheek.

"Are you positive you want to stay along the side of a draconian beast?" He asked sadly.

"You aren't a beast, you are a draconian King. My wonderful draconian King."

'Thank you.. Hitomi.. I love you..'

'I love you Van, so much.'

'My angel.'

'My angel'

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La Fin

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A/N I hope this epilogue pleases you all! I really do… Well R&R!!!! 


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